


small kingdoms

by afire



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, all of the lore here was made up by me, follows canon a grand total of zero percent, whether that's good or bad news is up to you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2020-12-28 08:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 47,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21133916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: Penelope just wants some peace and quiet, but she's probably not going to get it for a while.It's always shenanigans when these four are involved.





	1. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise that this will be a learning experience, more so for me than for you
> 
> enjoy.

Penelope walks into her room to find a very large wolf sitting right on her pillow.

“Get your dirty paws off of my bed,” she says, tone completely free of malice as she swipes a hoodie off the floor and pulls it over her head.

By the time she turns around, the wolf is gone, and the bed’s only occupant is her best friend.

Hope’s grin is a still little feral around the edges, but when Penelope pours herself onto her bed, directly on top of the other girl, she is met with no resistance.

“School tomorrow,” Hope says, after a while.

Penelope groans, pushing herself up and over so that she’s lying next to Hope instead of on top of her.

“I hate new people.”

Hope laughs, the sound exploding out of her like a bark.

“Well, the people never hate you.”

“I don’t get it.” Penelope drags a hand down her face, letting out a long breath. “What part of me looks like I want to make friends?”

“I think it’s the hair.”

Hope laughs again when Penelope shoves at her, knuckles white against the edge of the bed in an effort not to get pushed off.

“It’s okay, I’ll talk to them for you.”

“I don’t know how you can stand strangers.”

“They’re fun.” Hope wrinkles her nose, reconsidering her own words. “Sometimes, anyway.”

Penelope reaches over her best friend, smacks the light switch so that they’re plunged into semi-darkness, then falls back onto the bed.

“Going back to your room tonight?”

The light of the full moon arcs through the window, past the curtains that neither of them have bothered to close.

“No,” Hope says, shaking her head once.

“Okay.”

Penelope yanks the covers up over the both of them, and they’re asleep within minutes.

**🐾**

“Rise and shine!"

The sudden shout jolts Penelope out of a dream, and she’s never really been able to remember how hers go, but this one slips away faster than usual, like mist through her fingers.

There had been trees, many of them, and a winding river, but even those images fade away as she blinks sleepily, gaze traveling across her room to see Klaus standing in her doorway.

Next to her, Hope is still asleep, snuffling gently against the pillow.

“What time is it?” she asks, voice low and scratchy, like it always is right after she wakes up.

“Time for you guys to get up.” Klaus crosses his arms, one eyebrow raised in amusement. “Can’t be late for school.”

“You don’t care about that,” Penelope says, even as she unceremoniously climbs over Hope, both feet hitting the floor just as her best friend jerks awake, blue eyes wide in the watery sunlight that slants across the room.

Klaus doesn’t respond to that, but he does gift Penelope with a wry grin before turning to his daughter.

“Good morning, Hope. I see you’re still making a habit out of not using your own room.”

“Good morning, Dad. I see you’re still being annoying.”

Penelope feels a smile stretch across her face, and it grows wider as Klaus throws her a wink before saying, “Pancakes for breakfast, I’ll drive you to school after you’re done.”

He disappears down the stairs, and Penelope turns to see Hope squinting up at her.

“You should brush your hair.”

Hope rolls her eyes, getting up and turning to make the bed.

“Whatever it is that people see in you,” she says, “it’s definitely not your tact.”

**🐾**

Hope manages to convince her dad to swing by the café on their way to school, so when they walk into the unfamiliar building, at least they have iced coffees in their hands.

Penelope stands to the side as Hope talks to the lady at the front office, presumably explaining how they’ve just transferred here, amongst other boring admin pleasantries.

She looks around the small room, immediately clocking that the only exits are the big doors they’d entered through, and a smaller one in the back left corner, presumably leading to other offices.

The whole place smells vaguely of lemon air-freshener, and the cold nothingness that most offices have. Penelope is just leaning forward to inspect the glass bowl of candy they have on the edge of the counter when the main doors slide open again.

Two girls walk in, seemingly too involved in their own conversation to realize that they aren’t the first people to enter the office today.

Penelope watches as they draw closer, more out of boredom than anything else, and when one of them, the brunette, looks up and meets her eyes, she stares back, passive and unblinking.

“Hey, we’ve got English first.”

Hope’s voice rings out from her right, and Penelope turns, watching as her best friend scans the piece of paper she’s holding.

“Don’t forget your coffee,” she says, knowing that Hope would just leave it on the counter, if she’s not reminded to bring it with her.

They walk past the two girls on their way out of the office, but Penelope doesn’t turn to look.

**🐾**

Hope’s schedule is almost identical to hers, save for the fact that they’ve chosen different electives. Penelope’s never been partial to drawing, or painting, or any number of other practices that fall under the category of visual art. Hope loves the stuff, which is her prerogative, but Penelope prefers something that doesn’t require getting paint all over her clothes, or charcoal all over her fingers.

They split up at the edge of the hallway, Penelope headed left to the music rooms, and Hope going right to the studio.

“Dad’s picking us up after school,” she says. “Meet in the parking lot?”

Penelope would rather not walk through a crowd of teenagers without her usual buffer, but it would be pointless and time-wasting to ask Hope to push her way through to meet her outside the music rooms, just for them to turn around and head back out again, so she just nods.

“See you later.”

**🐾**

The room is not empty when she walks in, but neither of the two people already seated even turn to look at her, which suits Penelope just fine.

She heads to the far corner, drops her bag to the ground, then herself into a seat.

The quiet of the room is broken intermittently by the creaking of the door as it opens and shuts, but Penelope remains undisturbed, and she’s just starting to think that she’s going to really enjoy this class when the chair next to her scrapes back, and someone falls into the seat.

“Hey, we didn’t get a chance to talk before. I’m Josie. You’re new here, right?”

Penelope looks up to find the girl from the office, and the first thing she notices is that Josie has a smile like sunbeams, a smile that starts to falter as Penelope remains silent.

If this were any other person, Penelope would just turn back around, but somehow, right off the bat, it doesn’t feel as if Josie is just any other person.

That, more than anything, intrigues her, and Penelope has never been one to ignore her instincts.

“Penelope,” she says. “I just transferred.”

The sunbeam smile is back, and for a moment Penelope wonders how one person can feel this much happiness from participating in a conversation.

“Nice to meet you, Penelope! I know it can be a little weird transferring in the middle of high school, but the people here are nice enough, and you have your sister, which makes things easier, I’m sure.”

Penelope doesn’t quite feel like explaining her whole family situation to a complete stranger, so she just nods. It’s not the first time people have assumed that Hope is her sister, and it certainly won’t be the last.

She’s saved from having to come up with a response when their teacher finally walks into the room, immediately starting to talk about their syllabus. It’s all very boring, so Penelope lets her attention drift, wondering if Hope is having a better time in her class.

When the bell rings, she’s up before anyone else, hoping to make it down the hall before it starts filling with bodies. A hand on her wrist stops her from bolting, and when Penelope looks down, she gets greeted with that same, blinding smile.

“See you later?” Josie asks, tentative but hopeful.

Penelope considers it for a second, decides that making one friend won’t kill her, and says, “Sure.”

Hope would be proud.

**🐾**

True to his word, when Penelope and Hope push out of the school building, Klaus is in the parking lot waiting for them.

“Had a good day?” he asks, when they pile into the backseat.

“Fine,” Penelope says, sinking back into the leather.

“That means it went very well,” Hope adds. “Mine was good, too. I really like art class.”

Klaus is silent for a moment, then he says, “I’m really glad you guys are doing alright. We didn’t want to just move you here halfway through high school, but you know why we had to.”

“It’s nice here.” Penelope smiles when Hope turns to her with wide eyes. “What? It is. I like that we’re living near the woods now.”

They pull up to the house, and Klaus turns around to grin at the both of them.

“Got any homework from today?”

They both shake their heads.

“Well, if you decide to go out for a run before dinner, I’m sure no one would mind.”

Hope yells in excitement, tumbling out of the car and pulling Penelope with her. She jumps once, gaining much more air than a normal teenage girl should be able to, and then blue eyes flash with gold, and by the time she hits the ground, she is no longer a normal teenage girl.

Penelope rolls her eyes as she watches the wolf dash towards the line of trees.

She turns back to the car, where Klaus is still in the front seat.

“We’ll be back by six.”

Klaus makes a shooing motion with his hand, waving her along.

“Take care of her.”

“Always,” Penelope says, before letting her own eyes glint with gold.

Her hands are paws before she hits the ground, and then she’s running, off toward the edge of the woods where a distinctly canine-shaped shadow is waiting for her.

**🐾**

The moment Penelope makes it through the front door, a voice from the kitchen calls, “Don’t track dirt into the house!”

She dutifully takes her shoes off and places them on the rack, checking to make sure that her clothes aren’t too scuffed up.

Hope bounces in behind her, toeing her shoes off and leaving them next to the mat before wandering off, presumably to take a shower.

Penelope leaves them there, knowing that if she doesn’t, Hope will just think she’s lost them the next morning, because she never looks in the rack, even though that’s where all their shoes live.

She dusts herself off again, only moving on once she’s satisfied that her clothes are clean.

When she arrives in the kitchen, Klaus and Hayley both look up at the same time, and she can’t help but smile at them, the endorphins from the run still surging through her even as she feels her brain start to slow from the sleepiness that always comes after.

“Had a good day?” Hayley asks, coming over to pull her into a hug before stepping back and inspecting her, as if Penelope could’ve gotten injured at a school filled with humans.

“It was fine,” she says quietly, then after a measured pause, “I think I made a friend.”

Klaus makes a sound of disbelief, and Hayley shoots him a disapproving glare.

Penelope huffs out a soft laugh. “No, he’s right. She just wouldn’t stop talking to me.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve got someone other than Hope. If this friendship thing works out, bring her around sometime, okay?”

Penelope nods, and Hayley drops a kiss to the top of her head before gently pushing her towards the stairs.

“Go pull Hope out of the shower before all the hot water is gone,” she says. “Dinner will be ready when you guys are done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: im not used to plot-heavy narratives  
also me: writes a narrative that relies heavily on plot
> 
> oh, and neither of them are werewolves
> 
> find me on twitter @scorpiowaltz


	2. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can pretty much guarantee that this josie is less annoying than canon josie
> 
> but admittedly the bar was not set very high

Josie wakes to the smell of pancakes, and for a moment can’t quite shake the dream she’d been pulled from. Visions of fast-moving trees, as if she’d been running through the woods, and just before she’d woken up, the flash of green eyes in the darkness.

The images vanish when her door flies open and Lizzie waltzes in.

“Time to get up,” she says. “Dad made breakfast, and I don’t want to be late.”

Her sister vanishes back down the hall, and Josie lets her head fall back to her pillow, closing her eyes for just a second before she gets up to start her day.

By the time she walks into the kitchen, her dad is already seated at the table, inhaling his own stack of pancakes. Lizzie’s plate is empty, though she’s still in her chair, eyes focused on her phone.

“Good morning,” Josie says, as she takes her own seat. “Thanks for breakfast.”

Her dad grins stickily at her, swallowing his mouthful before replying.

“No problem, sweetheart. You and Lizzie alright to get to school on your own?”

“We’ll be fine,” Lizzie answers for the both of them. “What’s the plan for dinner?”

Their dad grimaces, and Josie knows the answer before it comes.

“I won’t be home ‘til late, so dinner’s on you. Sorry, girls.”

“It’s okay,” Josie says, before her sister can vocalise what they’re both really thinking. “We’ll leave something in the microwave for you.”

They eat in silence until it’s time to go, and Josie barely has time to put her plate in the sink before her sister is dragging her out the door.

“He’s never home for dinner,” Lizzie says, the edge to her voice sadder than it is angry. “One of these days, he just won’t come back.”

“Don’t say that!” Josie leans over to nudge her sister in the shoulder, making sure not to knock her far enough that they both fall over. “He’s just busy with work, you know that.”

Lizzie goes quiet, and the rest of the short walk to school is spent in silence, but just before they push through the main entrance, she says, “I just wish he was home a bit more.”

Josie sighs as she follows her sister into the building.

“Me too.”

🐾

For all her usual excitement at the beginning of a school year, Josie can already feel the monotonous drag of academia tugging at her heels. She likes school, and studying is not tedious for her, but she’s lived in this town pretty much her entire life, and sometimes things can get a bit repetitive.

Lizzie stops at the end of the hall, and Josie grinds to a halt next to her as they both turn to their lockers.

She only pauses when the chatter in the hallway seems to drop, as if everyone’s attention has been caught by something else.

Josie sees them before she hears them, the two new girls who have just transferred. Mystic Falls does not usually get new residents, and new students are even rarer, so she understands why the whole school is enamoured with the new arrivals.

Of course, it helps that they’re both absolutely gorgeous.

The one in her music class (Penelope, if Josie remembers correctly) is quiet as they both move through the crowd, gaze flickering from person to person, but never lingering. Her sister seems more animated, offering smiles to anyone who says hello to them, even stopping to chat at some points.

Josie doesn’t know how she feels about Penelope yet. The other girl seems reserved, quiet but not shy, and it’s obvious that staying solitary is a choice. She’s pretty sure Penelope could be friends with everyone by the end of the day if she wanted to, there’s something very charming about her, something that just draws people in.

“You’re staring,” Lizzie says, poking her in the gut.

“What?” Josie turns, not at all happy with the smirk her sister is sending her way. “No, I’m not.”

Lizzie ignores the denial. “Which one?” she asks.

Josie’s just about to tell her that it’s neither when Penelope draws level with them, and she finds herself looking into familiar green eyes.

Something clicks in her head, but it’s gone too quickly for her to figure it out.

“That one, huh?” Lizzie sounds amused, though not disapproving. “I guess that’s fine. I like the other one.”

Josie smacks her sister across the shoulder, frowning when Lizzie just laughs.

“I wasn’t staring,” she says, sounding like a petulant child even to her own ears. “And you don’t even know her name.”

The look in Lizzie’s eyes is half curiosity, half determination, all dangerous.

“Oh, but I intend to find out.”

🐾

Josie doesn’t know what Lizzie means by that until they walk into the cafeteria for lunch and her sister makes an immediate beeline to a table at the back of the room, where Penelope and her sister are sitting.

“Oh no,” she mutters to herself, even as she gets dragged along as well.

“Hello,” Lizzie says, as they come to a stop. “Would you guys mind if we sat with you?”

Penelope doesn’t answer, which doesn’t surprise Josie, but her sister smiles up at them, says, “Not at all! Are we at your usual table? Sorry, we’re new here, didn’t mean to steal your territory.”

Lizzie smiles back, and Josie already knows they’re going to have a very lengthy discussion later, dissecting every part of this conversation.

“No, nothing like that, don’t worry. There aren’t really designated tables anyway, people just sit wherever they want.”

Josie sits opposite Penelope, and the other girl gifts her with a slight smile.

“Hello, Josie.”

“You know each other already?” Lizzie looks betrayed, but Josie knows it’s a front, and she’s definitely going to get teased about this later.

“We’re in the same music class,” Penelope offers, and then seems to immediately regret opening her mouth, considering the discomfort that slides across her face when they all turn to look at her.

Her sister senses it immediately, and pulls the attention back to her by saying, “I’m Hope, by the way. It’s nice to meet you both.”

“I’m Lizzie, and this is Josie. We’re twins.”

“Fraternal, as you can see.”

Hope’s blue eyes bounce between the both of them, and for a second something akin to recognition flashes across her face, but it’s gone just as quickly, and then she’s smiling again.

“Twins, huh? That’s cool. Are you guys the only twins in town?”

“I don’t know, probably.” Josie shrugs, looking to Lizzie for confirmation. “We’re the only ones in school, right?”

Lizzie nods. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s just us. Why?”

“Just curious,” Hope says, taking a comically large bite of her sandwich before continuing, her mouth somehow already empty. “Pen and I aren’t sisters, by the way. Just thought you should know, if we’re going to be friends.”

Josie lets her gaze slide back to Penelope, who is listening in on the conversation with interest, but directing most of her attention to the sandwich in her hands. She hadn’t corrected Josie yesterday, when Josie had mistakenly assumed that she and Hope were sisters. It’s probably easier to just let people believe what they want, but still, Josie wonders if Penelope would ever have told her, if Hope hadn’t brought it up.

Next to her, Hope and Lizzie are still talking.

“Yeah, we live together, but we’re not related.”

“Where did you guys move in to? Are you close to the school?”

“Not really, we’re in the house on the edge of town, right by the woods.”

Josie knows that house, it had been empty for years, too expensive for anyone currently living in Mystic Falls. She can practically see the dollar signs spring to life in Lizzie’s eyes.

Deciding to deal with that whole can of worms later, Josie turns back to Penelope, only to find that the other girl is already looking at her.

If she’s embarrassed about being caught, Penelope doesn’t show it, simply holding Josie’s gaze, as if waiting for her to stay something.

And Josie, who so often does not say anything, suddenly feels like a whole world has opened up in front of her.

“Do you like it here?” she asks, and the question is almost involuntary, as if it’s something she wants to know, but would never have voiced if she hadn’t been given the opportunity to.

Penelope takes a while to reply, but somehow Josie can tell it’s because she’s thinking about what to say, and not because she doesn’t want to answer.

“It could be worse,” Penelope says finally, and there’s an air of something about her tone that Josie can’t quite get a read on yet. “I like the woods.”

In the back of her mind, Josie sees flashes of trees, the eruption of feathers as a flock of birds jets into the sky, but then she blinks, and the only thing left is Penelope’s green eyes, clear and unblinking, still looking into her own.

“It can get a bit scary at night,” she admits, thinking about all the times they’ve driven past after the sun has set, and the trees had seemed much more imposing than they are in the light.

This time, when Penelope smiles, there’s something almost wild in the curve of her lips. “It’s not too bad,” she says slowly. “I’m not afraid of the dark.”

🐾

As expected, Lizzie starts talking the moment they step into the house. Josie lets her, content to move around the kitchen quietly, making a cup of tea for herself, and then, after a moment of consideration, one for Lizzie too.

She slides the mug in front of her sister, who pauses briefly to say thanks before continuing in her tirade. Josie sips slowly at her own mug, waiting for Lizzie to take a breath before interjecting with a sentence of her own.

“Invite her to our birthday.”

Lizzie snaps around to look at her. “What?”

“Our party,” Josie explains. “You like her, right?”

“It’s too soon for feelings,” Lizzie says, and it would be cruel if it weren’t so honest. “But she’s pretty, and she makes me laugh.”

“So invite her to our birthday.” Josie wraps her hands around her mug, appreciating the warmth of it. “I’m sure she’ll like it, she seems the type.”

Lizzie doesn't speak for a while as she considers that, and Josie drinks her tea quietly, used to the rapid switch between sound and silence whenever her sister is around.

“Okay, I’ll ask her.”

Josie smiles into her cup, finishing off the last of her tea. When she looks up, her sister is grinning at her.

“What?”

“Hope will probably plus one her, but you should ask Penelope.”

The suggestion is both teasing and serious at the same time, and Josie knows that if she says no, then Lizzie won’t push, but the only reason her sister is being so persistent is because she thinks it’s a good idea.

They’ve never steered each other wrong before, not on purpose, and Josie can’t deny that she would like to spend more time with Penelope, so she sighs, acquiescing.

“Fine, I’ll ask. But I’m pretty sure parties aren’t her thing at all.”

Lizzie twirls away to rinse out her cup and deposit it in the drying rack. “You never know,” she sings. “Maybe they’re her thing if you’re the one asking.”

That’s probably not true, but Josie nods along anyway, not wanting to take her chances. The last thing she needs is Lizzie thinking she won’t do it and asking Penelope for her.

Her sister means well, but sometimes she can get a little single-minded when it comes to getting what she wants, or what she thinks someone else wants. Josie’s learned how to navigate between making herself heard and standing back to let Lizzie do her thing. It’s delicate, the push and pull of it, but she thinks she does alright.

“What are we doing for dinner?”

Lizzie doesn’t even miss a beat. “I don’t care, let’s get pizza or something. I want mushrooms.”

“Dad doesn’t like mushrooms,” Josie says, but when Lizzie picks up the phone and dials the number they both know by heart, she doesn’t stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there will be no rhyme or reason with pov switches, this is your warning, this also makes me seem like someone who doesn't plan before they write, but i think it's time we face the truth, all of us
> 
> catch me on twitter: scorpiowaltz


	3. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have not seen a single second of screentime for either klaus or hayley, i don't know what they look like, i don't know what they sound like, i don't know if my depictions of them are accurate
> 
> that being said, here's another chapter

They don’t say anything until they get home, even though Penelope can tell that Hope is itching to talk about it. Klaus keeps glancing at them in the rear-view mirror, but he doesn’t comment, and Penelope keeps her hand on Hope’s knee, trying to infuse a sense of calm.

The car is barely parked when Hope explodes out and dashes into the house, presumably in search of her mother. Penelope follows at a slower pace, and Klaus locks up before stepping in after her.

They reach the kitchen just as Hayley appears from the archway that leads into the living room, and after a second Penelope sees that she’s being shepherded in by Hope.

“What’s going on?” she asks, concerned but not worried. “You girls okay?”

“We’re fine,” Penelope says, moving around the table so that she can stand next to Hope. Opposite them, Klaus slides into a seat next to his wife, looking like he wants to say something, but knows that it’s best to wait.

For all that she’d wanted to talk about it before, Hope seems to struggle to find her words now. Penelope reaches over to take her hand, squeezes once in reassurance, and that seems to help.

“We think we’ve found the twins.”

Klaus immediately sits up straighter, eyes narrowing.

“How do you know?”

This time, Penelope answers.

“Mystic Falls High is the only school in town, so unless there’s another set of twins under the age of eighteen being home-schooled somewhere, these are the ones.”

They all lapse into a tense silence, each preoccupied with their own thoughts, then Hayley stands, coming over to usher the both of them toward the stairs.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do before their birthday, so why don’t you two go take a shower, and we’ll talk more over dinner.”

Penelope goes willingly, and Hope hesitates for a fraction of a second before relenting as well.

🐾

The matter is dropped for the moment in favour of actually enjoying a peaceful dinner, and Penelope is relieved that Hope, at least, seems less anxious about the whole thing.

Later, after they’ve all finished eating, Hayley slides a bowl of ice cream in front of the both of them, offering a warm smile before grabbing their plates and heading back into the kitchen.

Penelope takes one careful bite, then leans back and lets Hope take over the rest of the dessert. She closes her eyes, lets the sounds of the house wash over her. Most prominent is the metal of Hope’s spoon scraping the bottom of the bowl, and farther away, the crackle of the old-fashioned radio Klaus likes to listen to while he does the dishes.

The soft lilt of an old jazz tune floats across the room, and Penelope can feel herself falling into a light sleep when the music suddenly stops, interrupted by a few seconds of static before someone starts talking.

Next to her, Hope stills, and Penelope knows that they’re both listening in, the voice from the radio as clear to them as it would be if they were standing in the kitchen.

“Apologies for interrupting your easy listening, we’ve just gotten word from the local police department that a young boy has gone missing. Blonde, eight-years old, four foot one, or a hundred and twenty-five centimetres, responds to the name Jake, or Jakey. He was last seen with his parents at the edge of the woods at five in the evening. Locals are urged to phone in if they have any information that may help with the search.”

Hope is on her feet before the man finishes speaking, and by the time Penelope is also standing, Klaus is in the kitchen archway, fixing both of them with a stern look.

“Be safe,” he says, like he always does before they leave for something like this. “Take care of each other.”

Penelope speaks at the same time Hope does, their voices overlapping.

“Of course.”

🐾

“The cops are all around the east side, where the path is.” Penelope speaks slowly, aware that Hope might not be paying too much attention to her words right now. “Our backyard faces the south side, so they’re to our right.”

“He won’t be that far in, and we scared off all the coyotes our first night here, so there shouldn’t be any immediate danger.”

Penelope stretches out her arms, cracking her knuckles. “Remember the clearing about two minutes in, close to the river?” she asks, waiting for Hope to nod before continuing. “Lead him there, and I’ll try to nudge the cops in that direction.”

Hope doesn’t answer, but Penelope knows that she’s heard. They both hop the fence that borders their backyard, and Penelope turns to wave at the kitchen window, knowing that both Klaus and Hayley are watching.

The din of sirens gets louder as they approach the woods, but Penelope shuts them out, focuses on the beat of her own heart, and lets the shift wash over her.

It is, as always, painless and easy, like shedding one favourite jacket for another.

She and Hope have always been able to communicate wordlessly, a fact that sometimes drives both Klaus and Hayley up the wall in frustration, but in their animal forms, the connection seems to strengthen. They can’t exchange words anymore, of course, but no words are ever needed. Green eyes meet blue, and they offer each other a nod of acknowledgement before parting ways, each with their own job to do.

Penelope slinks around the edge of the treeline, staying in the shadows, letting the darkness of her fur act as a camouflage. The cops haven’t strayed too far into the woods yet, staying on the outskirts and sweeping their flashlights around. There are about four of them, each calling out the boy’s name as they slowly advance farther into the trees.

She needs them to veer north, toward the river, but knows that they won’t venture much deeper if they don’t think they’ll be able to find Jake.

The trees are sparser toward the edge of the woods, but twilight is swiftly descending upon them, and Penelope thinks the shadows will hide her well enough that she can sneak past the cops without alerting them to her presence.

Still, she goes slow, making sure not to make any sudden movements, or create any noises that will send them all running toward her.

Penelope manages to trek quietly around them, so that she’s north of their current position, and then, very carefully, she deliberately steps on a collection of twigs.

Four beams of light zoom toward her immediately, and she ducks down, not really in the mood to get shot tonight.

“Who’s there? Jake? Is that you, Jakey? It’s okay, we’re here to help!”

Penelope almost rolls her eyes, then decides that her personal opinion on law enforcement shouldn’t be her main focus right now. Instead, she makes her way farther into the woods, toward the clearing that lies a hundred or so meters ahead, lets her tail drag through a bush on the way.

The cops, as predicted, follow the noise, still calling for Jake as they meander after her.

This continues on until Penelope reaches the clearing, and she cuts a wide berth around it, ears twitching as she listens for any signs that Hope has also arrived.

For a moment, there’s nothing but the blundering of the cops behind her, but then she hears shuffling, and a young boy stumbles out of the trees. His shirt and jeans are pretty much ruined, and he’s wiping the remnants of tears off his face, but seems otherwise unharmed.

Behind her, the cops seem to be slowing down, and this time Penelope does roll her eyes, raising a paw and sending a handful of pebbles skittering into the clearing.

They finally burst through the vegetation, and Jake looks up, alarmed, but quickly reassured when he realizes that they’re there to return him to his mother.

Penelope watches as one of the cops picks Jake up, following quietly behind them as they make their way out of the woods and back towards the sound of the sirens, only shrinking back into the shadows once they've all driven off.

The sound of rustling erupts on her right, and after a second, Hope noses her way out of a bush, mouth open in an approximation of a doggy grin.

Penelope raises a paw to bat at her nose, huffing out a laugh when Hope sneezes, then ducking when her best friend takes a giant leap toward her, so that Hope sails wide over her head and slides into the bottom of a tree.

Before she can get up, Penelope takes off, racing back toward the house, where she knows Klaus has two steaming mugs of hot cocoa ready and waiting for them. The pounding of paws behind her indicate that Hope is following, and when they near the house, they both clear the fence, and the distance of the entire yard, in one big jump.

Penelope skids toward the back door, shifting as she goes, and by the time she’s standing on the step, she’s human again. Hope crashes into the back of her just as the door swings open, and they both stumble forward, falling into Klaus as he looks on in amusement.

“Went well, I assume?” he asks, shutting the door behind him as Penelope pushes Hope into the kitchen, not wanting to give her best friend any ideas about initiating a scuffle on the step of their back door.

“Jake’s with the cops right now,” Hope says cheerily. “He should be home with his parents soon.”

Klaus strides forward to bundle the both of them into a hug, and Penelope relaxes into it, breathing in the scent of safety that lingers across the entire home, but is strongest on Klaus and Hayley.

“Proud of you both,” he says quietly, before releasing them. “Want some hot cocoa?”

“Yes, please!” Hope bounds over to the counter, vaulting herself up so that she’s sitting on it, legs dangling off the edge. Penelope follows slower, but pulls herself up as well, watching as Klaus grabs their favourite mugs from the pantry and sets about pouring the hot cocoa out of the pot.

He sets a marshmallow in the middle of each drink before passing it over to them, smiling warmly at their quiet thanks.

Hayley appears in the kitchen then, and she comes to stand in front of them, arms crossed and gaze traveling across their skin, expression steely until she deems them safe and uninjured. Then she relaxes, leaning against the kitchen table next to Klaus.

“About the twins,” she says, after they’ve all floated in silence for a while. “Do you guys know when they turn eighteen?”

Penelope shakes her head, and Hope answers with a verbal, “No.”

“Do your best to find out,” Klaus instructs, though the softness of his voice transforms it into more of a request. “And keep an eye on them in the meantime.”

“It’s been quiet since we’ve arrived,” Hayley adds. “Hopefully, it stays that way.”

“We’ll be careful,” Penelope says, because she knows that someone has to.

“Yeah,” Hope continues. “We’ll keep each other safe.”

🐾

Penelope pulls a hoodie over her head, then turns her lights off and falls onto her bed, ignoring the exhale she punches out of Hope when her elbow digs into her best friend’s stomach.

The curtains are still open, and enough moonlight skates across the floor that Penelope can see her room as clearly as she could if it were a sunny morning. She stares at the ceiling for a bit, knowing that Hope has something to say.

“We’re going to protect them, right?”

Penelope turns to meet Hope’s eyes, sees the absolute determination on the other girl’s face.

“That’s what we’re here for,” she says. “And you know that I don’t like being bad at things.”

Hope tries to swallow a yawn, gives up halfway and just smothers it with a fist.

“Okay, cool. We need some excuse for asking about their birthday when we see them tomorrow.”

“We’ll think of something in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would just like to reiterate that neither of them are werewolves, more will be revealed later
> 
> talk to me on twitter @scorpiowaltz


	4. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, and welcome back to more of this, i hope that it's been good and you actually want more
> 
> this week's update is brought to you by the bag of chocolate-covered pretzels i had last night, and also the two cups of tea i had this morning, we sure are healthy in this household

Breakfast is quieter than usual, if only because Hope doesn’t talk through every mouthful of eggs like she usually does. Klaus fills the pockets of silence with complaints about the four business calls he has scheduled for today, and Penelope doesn’t mention how funny it is to watch a grown man whine about having to talk on the phone whilst also simultaneously shoveling bacon into his mouth.

The ride to school is also quiet, until Hope suddenly leans forward through the gap between the front seats, and Klaus almost swerves into a tree.

To her credit, Hope doesn’t even flinch, and Penelope thinks that sometimes they forget that human instincts aren’t as sharp as their own.

“Hey, do you- Dad, please pay attention to the road.”

“I can’t! Not when you do that!” Klaus rights the car, and it’s a couple seconds before his shoulders relax enough that he spares a glance at Hope. “What did you want to ask?”

“Do you think we should tell them?”

Penelope watches as Klaus considers the question, and he stays silent long enough that Hope eventually settles back into her seat, waiting for his answer.

“I think,” he says finally, “it is not ours to tell.”

“It concerns their lives." Penelope's voice is quiet when she joins the conversation. “They deserve to know.”

Klaus sighs as he pulls into the school parking lot, turning around in his seat so that he can meet their eyes.

“It’s not our business. I’m sure their father will tell them when he thinks they’re ready.”

Penelope doesn’t like secrets, doesn’t like how they make her feel, as if she’s taken something that doesn’t belong to her, but Klaus is right. It is not theirs to tell, and they have to respect that, no matter how difficult it is.

Next to her, Hope lets out an annoyed huff, but doesn’t push the matter further.

🐾

The low hum of disjointed conversation follows them as they weave their way through the morning crowd. Penelope filters everything out, choosing instead to focus on the soft, familiar footfall of Hope’s beat-up sneakers.

She’s not the best at picking her way through sounds, not as good as Hope is, but Penelope knows how to block things out, how to make sure she doesn’t get overwhelmed. Her dad had taught her, at the very beginning, when she couldn’t leave the house without feeling like keeling over from the cacophony around her. It’s about control, and patience, and knowing her limits.

Penelope thinks she’s gotten rather good at it.

“So, how are we doing this?” Hope asks, once they’ve rounded the corner and found their lockers. She fiddles with her own for a full thirty seconds before Penelope reaches over and opens it for her. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Penelope opens her own locker, picks out the books she needs for the first two periods before shutting it again. She leans against the cool metal, watching as Hope picks her way through the mess that’s somehow already formed after just two days. “You should ask,” she says. “I think they already know that I’m not the kind of person who cares about stuff like that.”

Hope laughs. “You think?” She slams her locker shut, narrowly missing her own fingers. “Okay, do you think they’ll sit with us at lunch again?”

“Maybe.” Penelope shrugs, starting down the hall toward their first class, making sure that Hope falls into step next to her. “You should figure out how you’re going to ask.”

Hope waves a hand around flippantly. “I’ll work it out later.”

🐾

Penelope doesn’t know what Hope’s plans are, though she really isn’t that worried, but neither of them expect the twins to beat them to it.

“Wait, she invited you to their birthday?”

In the five minutes that they have between periods, Penelope had left Hope alone for a grand total of two while she’d doubled back to the lab to retrieve a notebook. In that time, Hope had apparently managed to score herself an invitation to the only party they need to attend that year.

“Yeah, she didn’t even really give me a chance to answer, just said she’d give me more details later.”

Penelope starts them down the hall toward their next class, not wanting to be late. “Did she tell you when exactly they’re turning eighteen?”

“March fifteenth. It’s a Friday, so they’re having the party that night.”

“That’s the new moon.”

Hope hums thoughtfully, lowering her voice as they enter the classroom. “Yeah, so we should go. Better safe than sorry, right?”

Penelope takes a seat, watches as Hope crashes into the chair next to her.

“When have you ever been sorry for anything?”

Hope smacks her across the shoulder.

🐾

Once again, the twins appear before their lunch table. This time, Lizzie starts talking before they even sit down, going on about something or the other that had happened to her during one of her morning classes.

Penelope leaves that conversation to Hope, letting her gaze skip over to Josie instead. She doesn’t say anything until Josie meets her eyes, and even then, all she does is let her lips curve into a slight smile.

There’s something about Josie that’s intriguing, some invisible facet of her that Penelope wants to unearth and explore. It is not the first time a person has been interesting, but it is the first where Penelope does not feel as if she would be irritated if she doesn’t manage to find out why.

“Hey, so.” Josie’s tone is nervous, but not hesitant. “I know Lizzie already asked Hope, and she’ll probably plus one you, but I thought it would be nice to get your own invitation.”

Penelope knows where this is going, but she stays quiet, waiting for Josie to get there herself.

“We’re turning eighteen next month, and there's going to be a party. I’d really like it if you came along.”

The answer that Josie’s looking for is the one that Penelope’s going to give, but there’s something very fun about asking, “Isn’t it a bit early to start inviting people?”

Josie laughs, surprised but not offended. “This is pretty late, actually. Lizzie’s been planning this since we were kids, half the guest-list was invited last year.”

Penelope raises a single eyebrow, but makes no comment. Instead, she just says, “I’ll be there.”

“Great,” Josie says, her smile widening into a grin that could rival the sun.

🐾

Penelope slides into the backseat first, plants both feet firmly on the floor so that she won’t get jostled around when Hope throws herself in afterward.

“Guess what?” her best friend asks, not waiting for Klaus to answer before steamrolling on. “We found out when their birthday is, and got invited to the party.”

Klaus laughs, and the sound bounces around the car, warm and familiar. Penelope closes her eyes, lets the steady hum of jazz music wash over her as she leans back in her seat. Next to her, Hope is still talking.

“Yeah, they turn eighteen on the fifteenth of next month. It’s the new moon, so we figured we’d better keep an eye on them.”

Penelope hears the slide of skin over leather as Klaus spins the steering wheel, and she knows that they’ve just turned onto the road that will take them home.

“That’s a good idea,” he says. “We’ll do some more research before the party, too. I don’t want you guys running into the situation totally unprepared.”

“It’s okay, Dad.” Hope’s voice is light, happy and carefree, infused with laughter. “What big teeth I have.”

Penelope opens her eyes to see her best friend peering intently at her, clearly expecting some sort of reaction, a sign of amusement.

“I also have teeth,” she says, deadpan.

“Me too,” Klaus pipes up from the front seat. “Though I do believe that yours are much more effective for defense than mine are.”

Hope slumps backwards, arms crossed, muttering about how they’re both immune to jokes.

🐾

Penelope emerges from the shower in a cloud of steam and almost gets tackled over right in front of the bathroom. She holds her ground, using one end of the towel around her neck to wipe at her hair as she waits for the hot air to clear.

Hope blinks owlishly up at her, looking just as surprised as Penelope feels.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there.”

Penelope sidesteps past her, heading down the hall to her room. “That’s because you walk everywhere with your eyes closed.”

Hope, who seemingly has forgotten where she’d been going previously, follows along. “I don’t need my eyes to know where I’m going,” she grumbles. “Hey, come hang out in my room.”

“You don’t use your ears either.” Penelope bypasses her own closed door, swinging into Hope’s room instead. “Pay more attention to where you’re going.”

It’s a redundant suggestion, especially because Penelope knows that Hope only lets her guard down in places where she feels safe, like their own home, but saying it makes her feel better.

Hope knows this too, so she just shrugs and nods, swaying forward to fall face-first onto her bed. Penelope chooses to sit in the beanbag instead, not wanting to fling her wet hair everywhere. She pulls it out from the corner of the room, kicking it into position next to the bed, then crosses her legs underneath her as she settles in.

“Do you think we’ll be okay?”

Penelope looks up to find that Hope is now on her back, legs hanging off the edge of her bed as she stares up at the ceiling.

“What do you mean?”

“Just, I don’t know.” Hope raises an arm, curls her fingers into a fist and holds it up for a second before letting it fall back to the mattress. “We’ve never really had to face anything really bad, you know? The only thing we’ve seen since we got here is that fairy circle, and it’s so far into the woods that it doesn’t even matter.”

Penelope lets her head roll back so that she’s staring at the ceiling too, remembers how Josie had said that the woods are scary at night. “No one really goes in there, do they?”

“I think it gives them the creeps.” Hope flips around onto her stomach, still lying completely flat, but resting her chin on the mattress so that she can see Penelope. “Like, they can sort of feel that they shouldn’t be in there, but can’t really tell why.”

“Just makes our lives easier.”

All Hope does is hum absentmindedly in response, and they descend into silence for a while. Penelope counts the glow-in-the-dark stars that are plastered to Hope’s ceiling, gets to seventeen before she speaks again.

“I think we’ll be okay,” she says, still looking upwards.

For a moment, Hope doesn’t say anything, and then Penelope lets out a breath of air as someone crawls on top of her and curls up. She glances down to see her best friend, eyes already closed as she makes herself comfortable.

The beanbag is not big enough for two people, but all Penelope says is, “I’m not letting us sleep here tonight.” Then she shifts backwards, giving Hope a little more space to wriggle around, makes no move to push the other girl away.

“Just for a little bit,” Hope mumbles, voice already heavy as she dozes off.

Penelope sighs, but she closes her eyes too, lets her mind wander as Hope’s breathing evens out into a slow, steady rhythm.

Her best friend is right, they’ve never really faced anything properly dangerous before. As much as Klaus and Hayley had warned them about Mystic Falls, the town has been nothing but peaceful since they’d arrived.

Whatever happens on the fifteenth of March, they’re definitely not ready for it, but Penelope isn’t too worried. She’ll be alright as long as Hope is standing next to her, and Hope is always standing next to her.

They just have to find a way to keep the twins safe without letting them know that there’s any danger at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are, perhaps, happening? in the meantime, i hope you all stay hydrated, and unclench your jaw!
> 
> feedback n comments are always appreciated, you can find me @scorpiowaltz on twitter


	5. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shouts out to the tornado that is apparently raging in my suburb right now, you're a real one

Josie’s in the woods again, except this time she’s standing still, right in the middle of a large clearing. To her left, she can hear the bubble and crash of a river as it rushes past, but other than that, it’s quiet.

She takes a single step forward, out of the patch of sunlight she’d been standing in, and the long grass brushes against her ankles. It’s soft, and ticklish, and entirely too real for what she now knows must be a dream.

A soft breeze blows through, singing through the trees, and somehow, inexplicably, even though she’s never really enjoyed being in the woods, Josie feels completely safe.

She wanders forward a bit more, drawing closer to the edge of the clearing. Nothing is stopping her from venturing out past the circle of trees, but Josie stays in the sunlight, not wanting to take her chances out in the darkness, even in a dream, where nothing can actually hurt her.

As she draws farther from the river, the sound of flowing water fades away, replaced with the quiet hum of gentle birdsong. Josie treks slowly across the grass, pausing every few minutes to inspect the clumps of wildflowers that have sprung to life in various places. She’s crouched in front of a particularly bright bunch when, ever so slowly, the feeling of being watched folds over her.

Josie rises her to feet, spinning a tentative circle as she tries to find whoever, or whatever, is here in the forest with her. At first, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but then a flash of gold catches her eye, and she stops.

“Hello?” she calls, out of pure instinct, and not any actual expectation that someone will reply.

The looming darkness does not offer any answers, and she’s just about to go back to her exploration of wildflowers when, very slowly, right in front of her, two green eyes blink open. Whoever their owner is, Josie can’t see them in the shadows, but they don’t move any closer, seemingly content with keeping their distance.

In an odd turn of events, Josie doesn’t feel any of the anxiety that usually comes with being watched. In fact, she feels perfectly safe. If she were to put a word to it, Josie would even say that she feels protected.

She’s just about to take a step closer when the green eyes suddenly disappear, and in their absence, Josie feels a very profound loss.

“Wait!” she calls, stumbling forward in clumsy pursuit, momentarily forgetting the unspoken barrier she’d self-imposed on the clearing. The sunlight seems to coalesce around her, an incentive to stay where she is, but she continues forward, pushing into the darkness.

Incidentally, the darkness is the last thing she sees before something hits her in the face and she jolts upright, confused and disorientated.

“Woah, it’s just me.”

Vision still swimming, Josie squints up to find her sister hovering over her, expression a mix of amused and concerned, the pillow still clutched between her hands.

“Did you stay up late last night? You were totally gone, I tried to wake you like, three times.”

Josie drags both hands down her face, tries to focus on Lizzie’s voice so that she isn’t pulled back into a world of sunshine, and wildflowers, and a pair of green eyes she’s sure she’s seen before.

“Hey, you okay?” Lizzie takes a seat on the edge of the bed, reaches over to press the back of a hand against Josie’s forehead. “Do you feel sick?”

“No, I’m fine.” Josie shakes her head, catching Lizzie’s hand as it falls away and squeezing once in reassurance. “Just had this really weird dream.”

“Well, as long as you’re okay.” Lizzie stands, smoothing out her jeans. “Come on, we’re going to be late for school. You can eat breakfast while we walk, and maybe tell me about that weird dream of yours.”

🐾

“Huh, that does sound weird.”

Josie’s halfway through a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, having just finished recounting her dream for her sister. “Doesn’t it?” she asks, before taking another bite.

“I wonder what it means,” Lizzie says thoughtfully. “Do you think the woods is our woods? The one at the edge of town.”

“We’ve never been in it.” Josie pops the last of the sandwich in her mouth, talking around it as she dusts her hands off. “How would I know what the inside looks like?”

“Well, I’d assume the same as any other woods. Bunch of trees, maybe some rocks. I don’t think there’s a lot of variety.”

“How would you explain the green eyes then?”

Lizzie shrugs, already losing interest in the whole thing. “Do you know anyone with green eyes?”

Josie is a fraction of a second away from saying that she doesn’t when she’s suddenly reminded of the first day of school, walking into the front office to pick up a form and accidentally catching the eye of one of the new girls.

What she remembers best about that morning is how Penelope had just held her gaze, not looking away until Hope had started talking to her.

Somehow, as mundane as it had been, that moment had felt life-changing.

Which is why, even though Josie knows exactly whose green eyes had made an appearance in her dream, she says, “No, I don’t.”

🐾

The day crawls on, as most days often do, slow but not too tedious. Josie drifts from class to class with an almost mechanical efficiency, ignoring Lizzie’s repeated requests for her to pull herself together, though not intentionally. She just can’t stop thinking about being in that clearing, wondering why her subconscious mind had bothered to conjure a facsimile of Penelope if Josie couldn’t even talk to her.

It’s all very confusing, and the fact that it’s taking up so much of her attention is even more confusing. So when Lizzie once again propels them both in the direction of the table that Hope and Penelope are sitting at, Josie is not at all ready to confront any of it, least of all the girl in question.

Needless to say, Penelope doesn’t look like she’s being plagued with the same confusion that Josie is feeling. She doesn’t look confused at all, but Josie would bet that the other girl has never been confused in her life. Penelope doesn’t seem like the type of person who would be confused by things.

The whirlwind of thoughts in her head crescendos into a hurricane as Josie sits down, and then grinds to a halt when Penelope looks at her, in that same unhurried way she always does.

If Josie had any doubts about whether or not it really had been Penelope in her dreams, they’re all gone now. She would recognise those green eyes anywhere.

Of course, that doesn’t clear anything up. In fact, Josie’s pretty sure she’s now even more confused than before, but she swallows any burning questions she might have for the girl in front of her, and returns Penelope’s quiet greeting with one of her own.

Next to them, Hope and Lizzie are already engaged in what looks to be a very tiring conversation to be a part of, but Penelope just keeps looking at Josie, as if she’s considering something.

Then, as if she’s made up her mind, she says, “I have a question.”

Josie blinks in surprise, more so at the fact that Penelope had initiated the conversation, than what she had actually said. It takes a while for her brain to process the words, but when it does, she almost chokes on her own words in her scramble to reply.

“No! I mean, yes! I mean, question! I- oh god.”

Penelope lets her run herself out of steam, and Josie is a second away from just standing up and walking away, but she takes a deep breath, and tries again.

“Yes, what is your question?”

In a moment of mercy, or perhaps because that’s just the way she’s always been, Penelope doesn’t say anything about Josie’s temporary lapse in understanding of basic social cues, instead just moving right along.

“What would you like for your birthday?”

Out of all the questions Penelope could possibly have asked, and the list really is endless, considering the fact that Josie still doesn’t know the other girl all that well, this is perhaps the most unexpected.

So of course, all Josie says, very intelligently, is, “Huh?”

“Your birthday,” Penelope says, slower this time, though her tone of voice is more teasing than anything else. “It would be rude to show up at someone’s party without a gift, but I don’t know you well enough to know what you would want, so I’m asking.”

It’s a very simple question, so Josie doesn’t know why she’s completely floored, except maybe because Penelope’s voice is soft but sincere, and this is the first time someone has asked her what she wants in a way that makes her feel like they actually care about her answer.

Josie is quiet for a long time, and Penelope just keeps looking at her, patient but encouraging, like she would sit at this table forever just to hear what Josie has to say.

It is a strange, disquieting feeling, to be heard, but Josie finds that she doesn’t hate it.

“Let’s get to know each other then,” she says, feeling a lot less brave than the sentence she’d just uttered would indicate.

Penelope regards her for a moment. “Is that what you want?”

“As a present? Maybe not.” Josie grins, enjoying the way Penelope seems to brighten as the conversation goes on. “But if you get to know me better, then you’ll be able to figure out what to get me, yeah?”

Penelope just keeps looking at her, and in a sudden moment of epiphany, Josie realises that she doesn’t feel uncomfortable, or distressed, or any number of other emotions that could be associated with being looked at for an extended period of time.

She just feels safe, protected, like if she stays within Penelope’s green gaze, then everything will be okay.

These are all very odd feelings to be having about a girl she’s just met, so Josie shoves them all to the back of her head, tries instead to concentrate on what Penelope is saying.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

Penelope’s eyes seem to flash with gold as her smile widens, just barely. “Okay, Josie. Let’s get to know each other.”

🐾

“So you have a date,” Lizzie says, the moment Josie finishes recounting her story.

They’re both sprawled on the couch, waiting for the sun to set before one of them picks up the phone to, yet again, order pizza for dinner. Josie’s getting sick of pizza, maybe she’ll be able to convince Lizzie that they should get Chinese instead. She could really go for some spring rolls right now.

“It’s not a date,” she gripes, though her words aren’t laced with as much denial as she’d originally intended, which is disappointing, but not surprising. Josie’s too busy thinking about spring rolls, and also maybe about whether or not she actually wants it to be a date.

Lizzie doesn’t buy it, though that's not unexpected. “You’re going out with someone to get to know them better, that’s the definition of a date.”

“Somehow, I don’t think Penelope would agree.”

“Well, it’s a date, whether she knows it or not.”

There’s a lot to unpack in that statement, mostly about Penelope’s right to make her own decisions, but Josie lets the argument drop, not in the mood to fight over something that’s none of Lizzie’s business anyway. Whether or not it’s a date is probably not something that Josie can decide on her own, and definitely not something she’s brave enough to bring up with Penelope.

It’ll just have to be one of those things she never gets an answer for, unless Penelope decides to broach the subject. Which is about as likely as Josie herself broaching it; that is to say, not at all.

“Hey, Lizzie.”

“What?”

“How do you feel about getting Chinese tonight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would really appreciate it if we could all gather in a prayer circle and manifest cooler weather for me
> 
> hope you liked the chapter, you can find me @scorpiowaltz on twitter if you didn't and want to complain


	6. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for not telling me i forgot to update guys, but also thanks for not being assholes about it
> 
> special shoutout to ao3 user sylmaril for leaving those awesome comments on every chapter and also looking out for the new one today, sorry i forgot lmao, hope this was worth the wait

“Oh,” Penelope says, in the middle of dinner, talking over the sound of Hope gleefully shoveling rice into her mouth. “I didn’t get her number.”

Everything seems to stop around her as the three other occupants of the table turn to fix her with puzzled looks.

“Whose number?” Hope asks, through a mouthful of chicken, so her words don’t really sound like words at all. Penelope understands her anyway.

“Josie’s.”

Across the table, Klaus is eyeing her with something like disbelief, but also cautious optimism. “And who is Josie?”

“One of the twins,” Penelope explains. “I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, because I don’t know her well enough to pick something out by myself.”

“And what did she say?” Hayley asks kindly, deliberately not looking to her left, where it seems she’s just slammed her heel into Klaus’s foot to stop him from saying something, if the pained look on his face is of any indication.

“She said we should get to know each other better, and then I can decide on the gift myself.” Penelope puts her fork down, wordlessly pushes her plate over to Hope, who doesn’t pause at all between finishing her own food and starting on Penelope’s. “But I didn’t get her number, so I don’t know when this is going to happen.”

Hayley doesn’t stop smiling, even as Klaus winces yet again. “You’ll see her soon won’t you?”

Hope looks up then, having finished her food. “I can probably ask Lizzie for it tonight, if you want.”

Klaus turns toward his daughter so fast that Penelope doesn’t even register the movement until Hope’s chair scrapes against the floor as she unconsciously shifts backward. “Who’s that?”

“The other twin,” Hope says slowly. “She gave me her number when she invited me to their party, so she could text me more details.”

Whatever it is that Klaus has to say in response to that, they don’t hear it on account of Hayley interrupting just as his mouth opens again.

“We’re very glad that you girls are making friends.” She pauses, as if thinking over what she’s just said. “Unless … are you just doing this because you have to?”

Penelope thinks about Josie’s sunshine smile, the way Lizzie seems to know exactly what to say to make Hope laugh, and she shakes her head. “They’re nice,” she says. “I think this would’ve happened no matter what.”

“Got it.” Hope looks up from her phone, waving it in front of Penelope’s face. “I’ll text it to you.”

“Sure.” Penelope resists the urge to slap Hope’s phone out of her hands, tells herself she’s better than that. “Thanks.”

🐾

She doesn’t actually check her phone until later that night, too busy trying to convince Hope not to jump out the window to go for a run, because Klaus will definitely see her making a break for the woods, and she’ll be in big trouble when she gets back.

“You’re allowed to go for a run, he won’t stop you. Why are you trying to sneak out?”

Hope hops from foot to foot, fidgeting her way around Penelope’s room. “I don’t know, I just feel like being rebellious.”

Penelope frowns. “Why? They let us do whatever we want, as long as we tell them we’re doing it.”

“I think I’m just bored.”

“So you want to get into trouble on purpose?”

“I don’t know.” Hope shrugs, flopping onto Penelope’s bed, arms and legs spread like a starfish. “I’m itching for adventure.”

Penelope chooses to take a seat in her desk chair instead, spinning around so that she can rest her legs on her bed. “Adventure is going to find us pretty soon.”

“Not that kind of adventure.” Hope kicks out at Penelope’s legs, an instinctual motion that she doesn’t really think about. “I want an adventure that doesn’t result in me getting ripped apart.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Penelope says softly.

Hope sits up, legs stretched out in front of her, an impossibly goofy grin on her face. “I know.” She brackets Penelope’s feet with her own, knocking them together. “I’ll protect you too.”

🐾

Somewhere in between several complaints about the quality of milkshakes at the local diner and a request for a bedtime story, Hope falls asleep. Penelope thinks it happens on accident, but she’s also not quite sure. Nevertheless, she stands, stretches, and picks Hope’s quilt off of the floor so that she can tuck her best friend in.

Penelope is not particularly domestic, but there is a certain sort of pride that comes with taking care of her own. Making sure that Hope is safe has always been second nature, and it always will be.

When she returns to her room, the window is open, and a soft breeze blows in, skating across her skin. Penelope closes her eyes, breathes in the cool night-time air, and promises herself that she’ll go for a run with Hope tomorrow.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter that she’ll probably have to face some sort of wicked, eldritch creature in a couple of weeks. Right now she’s safe, and warm, and happy. Worrying won’t make the monsters go away, she’d learned that lesson a long time ago.

Penelope slides into bed, pulls a finger across the screen of her phone, and is met with a message from Hope. It had been sent several hours ago, an unfamiliar sequence of numbers, followed by a smiley face. For a moment, Penelope just looks at the message, wondering if Josie is still awake.

It is not a question she has the answer to. If Penelope doesn’t know Josie well enough to get her an appropriate birthday gift, she certainly doesn’t know her well enough to be aware of her sleep patterns.

Penelope’s deliberation stretches across two and a half minutes before she simply puts her phone down, deciding that there’s no harm in waiting until tomorrow.

🐾

There’s something to be said for waking up naturally, letting her mind slowly get used to consciousness before attempting to greet the day.

This is not what happens.

Penelope is woken very abruptly, at much too early in the morning, by what feels like several bricks falling onto her stomach all at once.

“Hope,” she says, without opening her eyes. “Good morning.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.’

Penelope opens her eyes to see her best friend hovering over her, can’t help but let a smile curve across her face. “Why are you up so early?”

Hope rolls off of her, thumping to the floor and starting to jog on the spot. “Restless.” She shakes out her arms, then her legs. “Let’s go for a run.”

It’s an early Saturday, so Penelope knows that if they leave the house, they’ll be at least ankle-deep in fog, and the woods will be so misty that they won’t be able to see much at all. She sits up anyway, stretching her arms above her head until she feels her shoulders pop.

“I have a question,” she says, watching as Hope peers at her curiously. “Want to jump out the window?”

Hope grins so wide that her canines flash in the morning light.

🐾

Penelope does end up leaving a note for Klaus, if only because she knows he’ll worry when he finds their beds empty. She sticks it to the front of her door, just so it’ll be the first thing he sees. Then she anchors her hands to her windowsill and vaults herself out the open window, landing neatly on the grass next to Hope.

“Race you,” she says, not waiting for Hope to reply before shifting and making a break for the treeline. Behind her, Hope lets out an indignant, delighted shout, then all Penelope hears is the thump of paws hitting the ground.

She keeps running, only slowing as she nears the treeline, knowing that at their full speed, she’s faster than Hope. Right at the edge of the woods, she digs her claws into the soft ground, pivots around just as Hope takes a running jump at her. Her best friend crashes into her, and they tumble through the trees, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

Penelope gets up first, shaking out her fur so that bits of leaves and twigs shower to the ground. She turns around, letting out an amused huff as Hope blinks dirt out of her eyes, sneezing once before wiping a paw across her nose.

The woods are quiet around them, save for the distant hum of birdsong as the world shudders awake. Penelope closes her eyes, breathes in deeply, and doesn’t have time to exhale before the air is forcibly ejected from her lungs as Hope tackles her to the ground.

Her best friend runs off immediately, throwing one short howl into the air before she disappears through the trees. Penelope stands, shakes herself off again, allowing Hope half a minute of a head start before giving chase.

🐾

When they do return, Klaus is waiting for them in the kitchen, a spatula in hand and his ‘#1 Dad’ apron slung over his pyjamas.

“Had a fun time?” he asks, sounding like he’s trying his best to be stern but really can’t be bothered to put that much effort in.

The words fly right over Hope’s head as she stalks single-mindedly over to the table, where a spread of various breakfast foods have been laid out. Penelope watches as she covers several waffles with an astonishing amount of maple syrup, wonders how her best friend has managed to keep all her teeth.

“It was good,” she says, turning back to Klaus, who looks like he wants to say something, but also like he really doesn’t want to say anything. “I think Hope just wanted to jump out the window.”

“Well, I’m glad she got it out of her system.” He points the spatula at Penelope, grinning widely. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Poached eggs on toast, please.”

Klaus spins the spatula between his fingers, throwing it from one hand to the other, then pointing it at Penelope again. “You got it,” he says. “Have some orange juice while you wait.”

Penelope grabs the carton of juice off the counter, pouring herself a glass before taking a seat opposite Hope, who’s still tearing her way through a stack of waffles.

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

Hope looks up, grinning stickily. “Want some?” she asks, indicating her plate.

“I think I’ll be okay.”

🐾

Penelope does the dishes after breakfast, handing them to Hope to dry and put away. Klaus sits at the table, nursing his second cup of coffee, and somewhere else in the house, Hayley is singing, her voice carrying through the halls and into the kitchen.

It’s an easy chore, mostly because it doesn’t require a lot of thinking. Penelope enjoys the monotony, how she can just let her mind wander as she works. She dries her hands after she’s done, tells Hope not to get into any more trouble, then climbs the stairs back to her room.

The sun has well and truly risen, so without thinking too hard about it, Penelope picks her phone up off her desk and hits call on the number that Hope had sent her.

Josie answers after three rings, sounding a bit harried.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Josie. It’s Penelope. Are you okay?”

“Pen, hi! I’m- yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?”

“Do you have any plans for today?” Penelope takes a seat on her bed, tips backward so that she’s lying down with her legs hanging off the side.

“Plans? Uh, no?”

“We can do something, if you want.”

“We can?”

Penelope lets an out amused huff. “You said you wanted to get to know each other better. I’m free now, if you would like to do something.”

“Like … like what?”

“I don’t know. That would be up to you.”

Josie is silent for a while, then she says, “Would you like to come over?”

“Is that what you want?

“Yes? I mean, yes. We can just hang out, if that doesn’t sound too boring.”

“That sounds wonderful. I can be over in an hour?”

“Sure! I’ll just text you my address.”

“See you soon, Josie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i miss an update without saying anything, i probably forgot, please bear with me, i am old
> 
> bro if you were here early enough to witness my heinous mistake, i'm sorry, but there's your proof that i'm old
> 
> i'm on twitter at scorpiowaltz if you wanna catch me, it won't be difficult, i am not fast


	7. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look who didn't forget? i won't lie, it was a close call, but here's the chapter, on time

Klaus offers to drive her over, but Penelope decides to walk instead. It’s a nice enough day, and he looks so comfortable in his chair that she doesn’t want to make him get up.

“Don’t be a nuisance,” he calls from the living room, as Penelope is pulling her shoes on.

She rolls her eyes, even though he can’t see her. “When am I ever?”

“Oh, right. You’re not Hope.”

Penelope hears her best friend’s shocked exclamation, but doesn’t stick long enough to witness the ensuing kerfuffle. By the time Hope recovers enough to issue a retort, Penelope’s already out the door and down the driveway, turning right to head into town.

Mystic Falls isn’t the busiest of towns, and the streets are quiet as Penelope weaves between them. It doesn’t take long to meander her way through, and the soft babble of sidewalk conversations fall away to nothing as she re-enters suburbia.

Penelope finds her way to Josie’s place quite easily, knocking twice once she gets to the front door, then standing back to wait. There’s some sort of commotion that she hears very little of, then the door swings open to reveal a man she doesn’t recognise.

“Hello,” Penelope says, remembering how Klaus had said not to be a nuisance. “Josie invited me over. Did I get the right house?”

The man squints at her for a moment, before someone nudges him to the side, and then Penelope is looking at Josie’s smiling face.

“Pen, hey! Please come in.”

Penelope steps through the doorway, toeing her shoes off and leaving them by the rack, where several other pairs are resting. She pretends not to hear the whispered conversation happening behind her, only turning around when Josie’s voice returns to its normal volume.

“Dad, this is Penelope, she’s new to town and we met in school. Pen, this is my dad.”

“Nice to meet you.” Penelope shakes the hand that’s extended to her, not quite sure what to think. Josie’s father keeps squinting at her, but the expression on his face isn’t so much critical as it is a father worried about the company that his daughter is keeping.

He considers her for a moment longer, then smiles. “Nice to meet you too, Penelope. Feel free to make yourself at home, and let me know if you need anything.”

She thanks him, and he drops a kiss to the top of Josie’s head before disappearing into a room down the hall.

“He really loves you,” Penelope says, as she turns back to Josie. “It’s nice to see.”

Josie looks surprised by the comment. “My dad?” she asks, then seems to answer her own question in her head. “Yeah, I guess he does. Wish he was around more often, though.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons.” Penelope slips her hands into her pockets, tilts her head in the direction of the hallway that leads to the rest of the house. “Show me around?”

“Oh! Of course.”

Josie leads them both into the kitchen, then the dining and living rooms, chatting all the while about where things are. Penelope listens dutifully, following along until they come to a stop near the back of the house.

“And this is my room,” Josie says, pushing the door open and allowing Penelope to step in first.

The first thing she notices is that it’s bright. Josie has her curtains open, and soft sunlight filters through the window, casting dappled shadows across the floor. There are books scattered everywhere, and a well-loved guitar sitting on a stand in the back corner, with sheet music on the floor around it.

Penelope turns back to Josie, ready to tell her that her room looks nice, only to find the other girl with her gaze trained on the ground. She says it anyway, if only to break the silence that seems to be making the other girl uncomfortable.

“You have a nice room.”

Josie looks back up, a hesitant smile playing on her face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty.” Penelope smiles back, hoping to reassure. “How long have you been playing guitar?”

“Oh, I don’t know. My dad taught me when I was younger, but I haven’t really been keeping up.” Josie crosses the room to pick her sheet music up, gathering them into a pile to leave on her dresser. “I’m not very good, but it’s fun to mess around sometimes.”

“I’m sure you’re wonderful,” Penelope says, sincere.

Josie trips over her own feet as she tries to turn around and Penelope is across the room before either of them can blink, one arm outstretched and resting lightly on the other girl’s elbow to steady her.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Josie says quickly, taking a single step back to put some distance between them, then stepping closer again as if she’d immediately regretted the action. “Uh, do you want anything to eat? There’s probably food in the kitchen.”

“I’m alright, thank you.” Penelope puts her hands back in her pockets. “Klaus made a pretty big breakfast this morning.”

Josie moves toward her bed, pulling Penelope along. “Klaus?” she asks, after they’ve both sat down. She shifts backward to lean against her headboard, legs crossed underneath her.

Penelope mirrors her position so that they’re facing each other. “Hope’s dad,” she explains. “She’s been my best friend since we were kids, and when my parents died, her family took me in. I’ve been living with them ever since.”

“Do you miss them?” Josie’s voice is gentle, free from judgement, and Penelope can tell that if she chooses not to answer the question, she won’t be pressed on it. Which is exactly the reason why she does answer.

“All the time,” she says. “But they’re always with me, in one way or another.”

Josie smiles at her, equal parts tender and sad. “I wasn’t really old enough to remember my mom, but I miss her all the time too.”

🐾

Penelope doesn’t know how it happens, but the next time she looks up, the sun has sunk beneath the horizon. She also doesn’t know why it is that Josie’s still holding her hand, after having taken it some time ago, but finds that she doesn’t mind it all that much.

When the conversation dips into a comfortable silence, Penelope glances down at their joined hands, then says, “I think they’re expecting me home for dinner.”

Josie’s gaze snaps to the window and she startles, just a little. “Oh! It’s late!” She stands, pulling Penelope along as well. “How are you getting home?”

“I was going to walk, but Klaus will be worried if I don’t let him come pick me up, so I think I’ll call.”

“You were going to- did you walk here today?” Josie asks, eyes widening when Penelope nods. “Don’t you live near the woods? That’s ages away!”

“Not really.” Penelope shrugs, watching as Josie’s hand gets pulled upward along with the movement. She still hasn’t let go. “Klaus offered to drive me, but it was a nice day.”

Josie, who doesn’t seem to realize that they’re still holding hands, starts to move toward the door. Penelope follows, because there isn’t much else she can do. “Come on, then. I don’t want him to think I’ve kidnapped you, or something.”

🐾

Klaus arrives just as Penelope finishes the glass of lemonade that Josie had pushed into her hands. They both watch through the window as he ambles up to the porch, raising a fist to knock twice.

Penelope stands, turning to place her empty glass next to the sink before facing Josie again. “Thanks for inviting me over,” she says. “I had fun.”

“Me too.” Josie smiles at her, bright and beaming. “You’re very good company.”

The sun has almost entirely set, so when Josie pulls the door open, Klaus is half-hidden in the growing darkness. Penelope is almost a hundred percent sure he’s just trying to look scary, and one glance at Josie is enough to tell that it’s working.

“Okay.” Penelope steps out onto the porch, elbowing Klaus in the gut. “Let’s go home before Hayley gets mad at us for being late to dinner.” She turns back to Josie, smiling in what she hopes is a comforting manner. “Thanks again for having me over. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Josie blinks, and it’s a second before her eyes refocus on Penelope, but then she smiles back. “Of course! Say hi to Hope for me.”

Klaus slings an arm around Penelope’s shoulders as they walk back to the car, pulling her close. “Had fun today?”

Penelope thinks about Josie’s sunshine smile, the way her voice lilts upwards whenever she’s excited about something, and says, “Yeah, I did.”

🐾

“Josie says hi, by the way.”

Hope flops onto the bed. “She did? Cool. Hi back, I guess.”

Penelope is leaning up against her headboard, legs stretched out, and Hope is lengthwise across the foot of the bed, just far enough that if Penelope kicks out, she’ll catch nothing but empty air.

They’d spent most of dinner absorbed in a conversation about whether or not they should be keeping more of an eye on the fairy circle in the woods, so this is the first chance Penelope has had to pass Josie’s message along.

“What did you do today?”

“Mom suckered me into gardening,” Hope says, sounding both annoyed and fond at the same time. “I pulled about a billion weeds. Dad got out of it because he was making dinner.” She rolls over, does a single somersault toward the top of the bed so that she can collapse next to Penelope. “How was your day?”

Penelope pulls herself closer to the other edge of the bed, so that Hope has more space to move around. “It was good. I like spending time with Josie.”

“Yeah? That’s good. It’s about time you made a proper friend.”

“It’s not my fault that people are annoying.” Penelope reaches over to dig her fingers into the space beneath Hope’s ribs, laughing when her best friend flinches so hard that she almost falls off the bed. “You’re lucky that I tolerate you.”

Hope smacks Penelope’s fingers away, kicks out at her ankles. “I wish you would stop.”

“Do you? Alright, get out of my room then.”

“I don’t want to,” Hope whines, refusing to budge even as Penelope pushes at her. “Okay, fine! Please tolerate me for at least one more minute.”

Penelope stops pushing, though she does poke at Hope one last time. “Okay, your sixty seconds of tolerance starts now.”

They lapse into silence for a while, and Penelope closes her eyes, running through the day’s events in her head. Next to her, Hope is suspiciously quiet, but it’s possible that she’s just fallen asleep.

“Hey.” Penelope nudges her best friend gently. “You there?”

Hope lets out a sleepy sound, followed by a yawn. “Hm? Yeah, I’m here.”

“Missed you today,” Penelope says quietly. “We should go get ice cream tomorrow.”

“Missed you too.” Hope responds entirely on instinct, blindly reaching over to clumsily pat the top of Penelope’s head. “I love ice cream.”

Penelope laughs breathlessly, taking Hope’s hand and returning it to its original position on her stomach. “I know. Want to go get some tomorrow? There’s a place next to the cinema, I saw it today on my way to Josie’s.”

“Ice cream is nice.” With each word, Hope drifts further and further into the soft blanket of sleep. “We should get some.”

“Alright, sleepyhead.” Penelope sits up to make a grab for her duvet, pulling it up over the both of them as she lies back down. “Guess we’re getting ice cream tomorrow.”

The only response she gets is a soft snuffle as Hope kicks about in her sleep, already dreaming about something or the other. It’s probably another one of those endless runs through a sunny meadow that has her waking up with more energy than she knows what to do with. Penelope stretches out against the wall, in a position that she knows will ensure that she doesn’t get awoken by a swift kick to the ribs.

“Goodnight, puppy,” she says, before closing her eyes as well.

Sleep comes easily, just like it always does when Hope is next to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> contrary to popular belief, i welcome your feedback/comments/opinions on any platform that you can find me on
> 
> coincidentally, i am scorpiowaltz on twitter, and softpluto on tumblr
> 
> use that information in any way you see fit


	8. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brace yourselves

The night of the party looms faster than Josie would care to admit. Not that she isn’t looking forward to turning eighteen, but there’s always this existential dread that comes along with each birthday. It’s crashed over her in waves since early that afternoon, stronger than it’s been in the past. If eighteen is supposed to be special, then Josie hasn’t felt it yet.

She stands in the middle of the hall that they’ve rented out, watching as Lizzie pinballs around the room, fussing incessantly over the details.

“Everything’s fine,” Josie calls, in what she knows is a fruitless effort to get her sister to stop worrying. “You’ve checked it all a hundred times.”

Lizzie doesn’t respond, but Josie thinks that’s more because she isn’t actually aware that she’s being spoken to, rather than a deliberate desire to ignore anyone who tries to speak to her. 

The room itself looks pretty much perfect, but Josie’s never really cared too much about things like these, so who is she to say, really.

Josie leaves Lizzie to her fretting, knowing that her sister will stop once people start arriving. It doesn’t take long for that to happen, and soon enough, the room is filled with hordes of high school kids, all ready to drown their sorrows, or whatever it is high school kids want to achieve by getting drunk on a Friday night.

Lizzie bounces from group to group, in her element as people shower her with birthday wishes and compliments on her outfit. Josie lingers near the door, saying hello to people as they arrive, thanking them for the presents and letting them know where the food is.

“Woah, it’s loud in here.”

Josie, who had been trying to spot Lizzie in the crowd, spins back around just in time to see Hope trot through the door. There’s a moment, just a fraction of a second, where it seems like she’s here alone, and Josie feels a hot wash of disappointment sink through her, but then Penelope pokes her head into the room, and everything is okay again.

“Happy birthday,” they both say at the same time, before each holding out a small package.

“Oh, thank you!” Josie takes the presents from them, then gestures toward the left of where they’re standing. “If you’re willing to push your way through the crowd, there’s snacks and drinks over there.”

Hope squints toward the opposite end of the room, where the entire back wall is floor to ceiling windows. “Are we allowed outside?” she asks, raising her voice a little in order to be heard above the thumping bass.

“I think so.” Josie casts about for Lizzie, thinking that her sister would know. It’s a futile effort, in the end, so she just shrugs. “We haven’t set anything up outside, but the whole ground floor is ours. It should be fine.”

“Cool!” Hope turns to Penelope, reaching to take hold of her wrist. “I’m going to go say hello to Lizzie, but I’ll come look for you later, okay?”

Penelope nods, and then Hope is gone, disappearing into the crowd faster than Josie can track. She turns back to Penelope, intent on asking the other girl how she is, when the door opens again, and Josie is caught between wanting to spend time with Penelope, and wanting to be a polite hostess.

“It’s okay.” Penelope makes the decision for her. “Go say hi to everyone, I’ll be around.”

“Don’t go too far.” Josie blinks, taken aback by her own forwardness, but all Penelope does is smile at her before melting into the crowd.

🐾

By the time everyone’s arrived, Josie’s just about ready to go to bed. Unfortunately, the moment she even contemplates this, she gets pulled into a game of truth or dare. Lizzie materializes next to her just as she sits down, and Josie watches as her sister pulls a glass bottle out of seemingly nowhere.

“Host spins first,” she says gleefully, placing the bottle on the ground and giving it a decent twirl.

Hope and Penelope aren’t in the circle, and Josie finds herself paying less and less attention as the game goes on, instead devoting her time to scanning what’s left of the crowd in her attempt to find the two girls. Her search is interrupted when Lizzie suddenly stands up, moving determinedly toward the back of the room, where the door that leads outside is propped open.

Josie stands too, following along even though she has no idea what’s happening. “Wait, where are you going?”

Lizzie throws a confused glance over her shoulder, but doesn’t stop walking. “To the woods? Rafael dared me to spend ten minutes in there, weren’t you listening?”

“The woods?” Josie trips over someone’s foot, mumbles a quick apology before continuing to follow her sister. “Lizzie, it’s dangerous. Dad said never to go in there.”

Lizzie doesn’t slow down. In fact, she speeds up a little. “Yeah, well, Dad says a lot of things. Doesn’t mean any of them are true.”

“I still don’t think we should go in there.”

“No one’s asking you to come with me.”

Josie sighs, but she stops trying to resist, instead just falling into step next to Lizzie, not pulling away when her sister links their arms. Dangerous or not, they’ll be safer together.

The venue for their party sits at the edge of town, close enough to the woods that a short walk across some untamed fields would bring them right up to the treeline. If Josie squints into the distance, she thinks she can see where Hope and Penelope live.

As they draw closer to the trees, Lizzie’s footsteps start to falter, until slow but surely, they come to a full stop, right at the edge of the woods. Josie peers into the darkness, watching as the shadows seem to coalesce.

“We can just say we went in,” she offers. “No one can see us out here.”

It is, apparently, the wrong thing to say, because Lizzie immediately starts walking again. “I’m not a liar.”

Josie pulls her sister closer as they move forward, not daring to make a sound. She doesn’t really know what lives in these woods, but would really rather not alert them to their presence. Lizzie doesn’t speak either, simply continuing to stride on, until they’re so far in that if Josie turns around, she can’t see the field anymore.

“I think this is enough,” she says, voice dropping to a whisper.

Lizzie stops, looks around them, then drops Josie’s arm to dig her phone out of her pocket. “Ten minutes.”

They stand there for what feels like forever, silently facing each other and waiting out the clock. Josie wraps her arms around herself, wishing she’d had the foresight to put her coat on before venturing out into the night.

She doesn’t know how much time has passed, but slowly, and ever so surely, Josie starts to get the feeling that they’re not alone.

“How long more?” she asks, stepping closer to her sister as Lizzie checks her phone again.

“Four minutes.”

Josie stares out into the trees, counting down the seconds in her head, when suddenly, out of nowhere, something snaps.

“Did you hear that?”

“No,” Lizzie says, not sounding very sure at all. “It’s probably just your imagination.”

“Yeah, probably.”

They fall silent again, and Josie thinks they must be getting to the end of those ten minutes when, from directly in front of her, there is a very distinct squelch, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. Whatever it is lets out a heaving groan, and then, one by one, two red eyes blink open.

Josie turns and runs, flinging an arm out to pull Lizzie along with her. She has no idea where she’s taking them, and should probably reorient to make sure that they’re running out of the woods rather than farther into it, but there are other things on her mind right now. Like the desperate desire to put as much distance as possible between them and the creature that’s definitely started to give chase.

“Josie!”

“What!”

“It’s getting closer!”

Josie refuses to turn around to check, knowing that the moment she does, she’ll trip over something, and then it’ll all be over. Instead, she just runs faster, watching out of the corner of her eye as Lizzie does the same.

Behind them, she can hear the cracking of branches as the creature shoulders its way through the woods, uncaring of what it tears up in its mission to hunt them down. Josie tries not to think about how this probably isn’t the worst birthday she’s had.

“What’s that!”

Josie tries her best to look at what Lizzie is pointing to. “There’s nothing there!”

“No, look! I think it’s a clearing, or something!”

They come to the same conclusion at the same time, which is a relief, because Josie doesn’t think she’s got any breath left in her. Whatever it is that’s chasing them lets out another guttural groan, sounding closer than ever.

“Josie! If we die tonight, just know that I love you!”

“We’re not going to die!”

“Uh, I think we fucking are!”

“Less talking, more running!”

They push towards the clearing, and the closer they get, the more Josie starts to feel as if she’s seen this space before. But that’s impossible, she’s never been in the woods. She shakes the feeling away, ducking under a low-hanging branch and bursting through the trees.

Josie stumbles, but doesn’t fall, and is ready to keep running when a startled yelp sounds from behind her. She turns, heart in her throat, to find her sister sprawled on the ground, both hands wrapped around her ankle even as she tries her best to inch away from the edge of the clearing.

“Lizzie!”

“Don’t bother! Just go! It’s coming!”

Sure enough, the moment Lizzie finishes speaking, the creature slams out of the woods, skidding to a halt between them. Josie doesn’t know what she’d expected, but this is definitely far worse.

Larger than a bear, the beast looks like a cross between a hyena and a wolf, with huge paws, the ends of which are tipped with long, curved claws, and dark, shaggy fur. An assortment of leaves and branches are caught in the antlers on its head, and as Josie watches, it turns toward her to reveal a dog-like snout, and two very large, very red eyes.

She really wishes they had stayed at the party.

The beast regards her for a moment, then turns back around, stalking towards Lizzie instead. Her sister lets out an audible whine, and Josie jolts forward, scrabbling over the ground for a handful of rocks, which she tosses at the creature.

“Hey! Stop! Don’t touch her!”

It doesn’t react at all, and Josie starts to panic, running forward even though she has no idea what she’s going to do. The beast picks up speed as it goes, and just as it takes a flying leap toward Lizzie, jaws open so that they both can see rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth, something slams into it from the side, and both creatures go tumbling toward the other end of the clearing.

A very loud scuffle ensues, and Josie winces at the clash of growls and roars, but ignores it for the moment in favour of falling to her knees next to her sister. “Are you okay? Oh, god. Lizzie, are you okay?”

“Fine,” Lizzie bites out. “Think I twisted my ankle, but other than that I’m fine.”

A particularly loud snarl erupts from their right, and when Josie turns, she sees what she now can identify as a wolf get flung through the air, hitting the ground with a painful sounding thump. It gets up almost immediately, throwing itself at the beast again, claws first

“Josie.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something in the trees.”

Josie follows her sister’s gaze to a spot between the trees, but all she can see is darkness, and maybe some leaves. “I don’t see anything,” she says, but has to swallow her words immediately when there’s a rustle of movement.

She moves to stand in front of her sister, ignoring the sound of annoyance that Lizzie lets out. For a second, there is only darkness, but then, very slowly, right in front of her, two green eyes blink open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter goes out to my friends, not for any reason other than the fact that they're great and i love them, mishell fen rylee jude nicole none of you read this fic (of your own free will) but you support me nonetheless and i love you for that
> 
> @scorpiowaltz on twitter if you want to have a chat


	9. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of revelations this week so the journey might be a bit bumpy, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times

“Penelope?”

“What?” Lizzie hisses, and Josie glances backwards to see her sister hunched over her ankle. “I know you’re like, gay and in love or whatever, but that is not Penelope.”

Josie doesn’t really have anything to say to that, especially not when the green eyes disappear, only for an actual panther to stalk out of the trees. Under the cover of night, it looks like a slice of darkness come to life, and Josie really can’t blame herself for not being able to see it at first.

The panther stays a polite distance away from them, but flicks its tail in their direction, then jerks its head towards the woods.

“I think it wants us to leave,” Josie says slowly.

“I would love to leave.” Lizzie’s voice is dripping with sarcasm, but also tinged with badly-hidden pain. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I can walk.”

Josie’s just about to suck it up and offer to carry her sister through the woods when the panther pads over, laying down next to Lizzie and eyeing the both of them expectantly.

Lizzie catches on first. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” She looks down at her ankle, then up at the panther again. “But it’s our only idea. Come help me up, Jo.”

It is a surprisingly easy process, all things considered, and Josie doesn’t have time to fully process what’s happening before they’re moving through the woods. The panther seems to know where it’s going, and is trotting at a speed that has Josie jogging to keep up. Lizzie doesn’t seem affected at all, happy to be carried along.

When they emerge from the trees, Josie’s first thought is that they are no longer a ten minute stroll away from the party. Directly in front of them is yet another large field, but this time, there is a house situated at the other end.

“Oh, that’s probably where Hope and Penelope live.”

Lizzie makes a noise of interest, but doesn’t otherwise comment, and the panther picks up speed as they cross the field, only slowing as they reach the front door of the house. It lays down again, and Josie moves on instinct to help her sister up, letting Lizzie lean on her as they linger on the porch.

The panther flicks its tail toward what looks like a doorbell, and before Josie can say anything else, it turns and starts to sprint back toward the woods, moving so fast that all they can see is a black blur through the grass.

Lizzie rings the doorbell, because apparently she’s had enough of trying to stand, and Josie hears a cheery voice say, “We gave you a set of keys for a reason,” before the door swings open and Klaus is staring down at them, the grin slipping off his face as he takes in what he’s seeing.

His gaze flicks upwards for a moment, toward the woods, but nothing happens, and he steps back, giving them space to move into the house. Josie helps Lizzie along as Klaus directs them to what she assumes is a living room, ushering them both onto a couch before he disappears down the hall.

Not thirty seconds pass before he returns, though this time he’s not alone. A woman enters the room after him, and they speak in low voices before Klaus leaves again. The woman comes around the couch, kneeling on the ground in front of them.

“Hello," she says. “I’m Hayley. I know tonight has been a lot, and you’re probably really confused right now, but I promise we’ll explain everything.”

Klaus comes back into the room then, holding something in his hands. Josie only realizes what it is when he hands it over to Lizzie. Her sister takes the ice pack without complaint, resting it against her ankle, then obediently turns to rest her injured leg over the arm of the couch when Klaus tells her to.

“You’re welcome to stay for the night,” he says, taking a step back to crouch next to Hayley. “But if you want to go home, I can give you a ride.”

Josie chances a glance at her sister, sees the exhaustion on Lizzie’s face, and makes the decision for the both of them.

“We’ll stay, but we need to call our dad.”

Klaus nods, and both he and Hayley stand. “We’ll leave you to it, let us know if you need anything at all,” he says, before they leave the room.

“The party’s probably still going.”

“What?” Josie turns to her sister, taking a second to register her words. “Oh, yeah. Do you think Dad will go shut it down for us?”

“Maybe.” Lizzie shrugs, staring down at the ice pack she’s still holding to her ankle. “You should call him.”

Josie doesn’t want to call him, but Lizzie wants it even less, so she takes out her phone. Their dad answers on the first ring, which is surprising.

“Josie? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” Josie stares down at her feet, realizes that she still has her shoes on. “We’re spending the night at Penelope’s place, but the party’s probably still going on. Can you go and shut it down for us? And maybe also grab our presents.”

“What? Why did you guys leave? Are you okay?”

Josie wedges her phone between her shoulder and her ear, leaning down to pull her sneakers off. “We’re fine,” she says. “Just lost track of time. Can you just go make sure everyone leaves?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Lizzie’s right next to me.”

Josie holds the phone out to her sister, who lets out a tired, “Hey, Dad.”

Their dad is quiet for a bit, but then he says, “Alright, I’ll go take care of the party. Be safe, I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

The call clicks off, and Josie lets her phone fall to the couch next to her. Lizzie doesn’t say anything else, and for a while they both just sit there, quietly ruminating. The silence stretches on, until it’s broken by the sound of a door creaking open, and a rush of muffled voices that echo from down the hall.

Josie can’t quite hear what’s being said, but she can hear snatches of Penelope’s quiet tone, and it brings more comfort than she has the capacity to understand right now. All Josie knows is that Penelope makes her feel safe, the rest she can deal with later.

After a while, the voices fade away, and when Josie looks up, she sees both Hope and Penelope shuffle into the living room. They’re quickly followed by Hayley, then Klaus, who is carrying a tray with him.

Klaus sets the tray down on the coffee table that sits between the couches and the television that hangs on the wall, and Josie suddenly finds herself holding a mug of hot cocoa. A glance to her right reveals that Lizzie’s been given one as well.

“Thank you,” she says, a sentiment that Lizzie echoes. Klaus just waves a hand through the air, smiling warmly at the both of them as he takes a seat in one of the armchairs. Hayley settles in the other one, and Josie watches as Hope and Penelope pull the other couch over, so that they’re all seated in a haphazard circle.

For a long moment, all they do is quietly sip at their respective drinks, but then Klaus lowers his cup, leans forward so that he can look both Josie and Lizzie in the eye. “I don’t make a habit out of interfering in someone else’s business,” he starts, “but with everything that’s happened tonight, I think you two deserve an explanation.”

Josie glances over at Penelope, only to find that the other girl is already looking at her. As is always the case, Penelope doesn’t turn away, and Josie is struck with a sudden realization. It’s not that Penelope is difficult to read, it’s that she’s very good at making sure only a certain handful of people know how to read her.

Right now, the mask is falling away, bit and bit, and the more Josie looks, the more she can see. Penelope is worried, and tired, and for some reason, a little angry. But most of all, she’s relieved.

Before Josie has the time to unpack any of that, Klaus continues speaking.

“We’ll answer any questions that you have,” he says. “To the best of our ability.”

Lizzie wastes no time at all. “What was that in the woods? The … thing that was chasing us?”

“We don’t know.” It’s Hope who answers, wincing as she shifts her weight in an attempt to turn to look at them. “Some sort of eldritch beast, not from this world.”

Josie frowns, fingers tightening around her mug. “This world?”

Hope nods. “The human world,” she explains. “That’s where we live. The other world exists on a different plane, it’s like we’re layered on top of each other, but can’t interact.”

“So how did that thing get here?” Lizzie asks.

This time, it’s Penelope who answers. “It broke through," she says. “Do you know what ley lines are?”

Josie shakes her head, while Lizzie says, “No.”

“They’re basically an invisible network of otherworldly energy. There’s nothing inherently malicious about them, but the areas where they intersect are where it becomes easier to cross between worlds.” Penelope pauses, letting the information sink in before continuing. “Some towns, like Mystic Falls, sit on the intersection. Here, the ley lines cross in the woods.”

“Is that why no one ever goes in there?” Josie watches as Hope shifts again, grimacing as she does so. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, don’t worry.” Hope settles for leaning against Penelope. “And yes. No one from the other world wants to hurt you, but humans can’t come into contact with it for very long without feeling a little sick.”

They fall silent again, and Josie stares down into her half-finished cocoa. The day feels like it’s been about a thousand hours long, and she’s just about ready to go to bed. She can think about the ramifications of there being other worlds later.

“There’s one more thing that you should know.” Klaus sounds like he really doesn’t want to be the one delivering this information, but will if he must. “Creatures from the other world are usually passive, they’ll leave us alone if we mind our own business. The beast that chased you tonight is not passive, it was sent here to attack you specifically.”

Josie blinks. “Us?”

“Yes.” Klaus nods. “It’s, for lack of a better word, something of a curse. All we know is that it triggered when you turned eighteen, and the beast won’t stop attacking until one of you is dead.”

“Hold on.” Lizzie reaches to take hold of Josie’s hand. “One of us has to die?”

“No.” Hope sits up straight, and this time she doesn’t wince. “Neither of you are going to die, that’s what Pen and I are here for.”

Lizzie squints at them. “No offense, but how are you two going to stop that monster from ripping one of us apart?”

Hope glances at Penelope, then they both look to Klaus and Hayley, who offer nothing but non-committal shrugs.

“Like this.” Hope grits her teeth, trying to push herself to her feet. A hand on her knee stops her, and Penelope stands instead.

“I’ll do it,” she says, and for a second, no one moves, but then Josie blinks and Penelope is gone. Standing in her place, looking comically large in the living room, is the panther from the woods. Josie blinks again, and Penelope is back on the couch. “Hope was the wolf.”

Somehow, none of this comes as a surprise, but after being told that there’s apparently a curse on her head, Josie doesn’t think anything could surprise her anymore. Still, she’s tired, and any questions that they might have can probably wait until tomorrow.

“Can we go to bed?” she asks, looking between Klaus and Hayley.

“Of course.” Klaus stands immediately, reaching over to collect their empty mugs and put them back on the tray. “I’ll show you where you can take a shower, if you want one. And we’ll get one of the guest rooms set up for you.”

“Thanks.” Josie stands too, reaching to help her sister up. “And thank you for letting us stay.”

Klaus turns to fix them with a serious look. “Don’t even worry about that,” he says. “You’re always welcome here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking the next two weeks off to celebrate the holidays with my friends and family, see you guys on the tenth for the next chapter
> 
> Sincerely hope that this decade has treated you well, and if not, that the next will treat you better. As always, catch me on Twitter @scorpiowaltz if you've got anything to say, and on CuriousCat @superace if you want to say it anonymously


	10. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, I hope the holidays were as good for you as they were for me, here's more of this stuff. Keep your eyes peeled for lore, because it's in here somewhere.

Penelope wakes to Hope’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist. It’s early still, and her room is awash in the watery silver of predawn light. If she concentrates, she can feel the faint rise and fall of Hope’s steady breathing, and that tiny movement brings more comfort than she can ever explain.

Crashing back into that clearing, only to watch Hope get flung into a tree and not get back up, had been the most terrifying thing Penelope’s ever had to experience. She doesn’t remember ever being that afraid.

Her memories are fuzzy, a blur of black and red, but Hope had stood up, and by then the beast had gone, leaving nothing but a trail of blood. Penelope doesn’t really know how they’d managed to get home, but she does know that they’d shifted back before Klaus had opened the door, because Hope had taken one look at him and said, “I think some of my ribs are broken.”

They heal faster than humans do, and Penelope’s always been grateful for that, but broken bones aren’t paper cuts. Holding her best friend’s hand while Hope tries not to wince too hard at the sensation of her ribs stitching themselves back together is not something that Penelope wants to do ever again.

She breathes out a slow breath, then carefully sits up, not wanting to accidentally wake Hope in the process. Her best friend mumbles something incomprehensible, but stays asleep. Penelope drags a hand down her face, then stands and pads out of her room, making sure to shut the door behind her.

The house is quiet, and when Penelope rounds the corner to head into the kitchen, she jumps so high that she smacks her head into the top of the door frame.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Josie rushes over from where she’d been sitting, arms outstretched. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think anyone else would be awake.”

Penelope rubs a hand over her head, waving the other through the air in an attempt to assure Josie that she’s fine. “I’m okay.” She steps away from the door, hopping up to sit on the kitchen island. “Good morning, by the way.”

Josie follows her, but sits back down in the chair she’d previously occupied.

“Good morning. Sorry for startling you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Penelope crosses her legs underneath her, then turns so that she’s facing the other girl. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly?” Josie props an elbow on the counter, then rests her chin in one hand. “I don’t know. Is that weird? I just feel a little empty.”

Penelope hums, shaking her head.

“No, it’s not weird. It was a lot of new information. You’re just processing it right now.”

Josie goes quiet then, and Penelope doesn’t disturb the silence. Sometimes, thoughts take a while to reorganise themselves, and trying to rush them will only make things worse.

In the end, what she says is, “I haven’t thanked you, for last night.”

“You don’t have to.” Penelope reaches over to take one of Josie’s hands, a gesture of reassurance, but also because she thinks they both need it right now. “I’m sorry that you didn’t know.”

“It’s okay.” Josie shrugs. “I get why you didn’t say anything. And who else could?”

It is not hers to tell, but Penelope’s had enough of shouldering the weight of someone else’s secrets. Hiding the truth won’t save the twins, but it very well might kill them.

“I don’t like calling it a curse, so I won’t.” Penelope pulls gently on Josie’s hand, making sure that the other girl is looking at her. “But this”—she casts about for a word— “affliction, that you have. It didn't start with you.”

Josie doesn’t respond, but Penelope can tell from the look in her eyes that pieces are falling into place. The jagged edges of everything that’s been kept from her starting to fit neatly into all that she’s learning right now.

“It’s very possible,” Penelope says, keeping her voice low and gentle, “that your dad would have known.”

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that they’re only eighteen, easy to forget that despite everything, they’re still kids. But right now, in the orange haze of a new day, surrounded by nothing but the silence of a morning she might never have seen, Josie looks so impossibly young. Penelope doesn’t want to think about what could’ve happened, had she and Hope not made it in time.

“Hey, Pen.” Josie is looking up at her, open and sincere. “Can I tell you something?”

Penelope leans forward, an entirely instinctual, unconscious move.

“Of course.”

Josie glances down at their joined hands, then meets Penelope’s eyes again. “Thank you,” she says.

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.” Josie doesn’t smile, but her voice is earnest. “Thank you. For telling me, and for being here.” Her gaze skitters across the kitchen floor. “You didn’t really have to do any of this.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Penelope tugs on Josie’s hand again, waiting until the other girl is looking at her before she continues speaking. “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.”

🐾

Hope rises with the sun, stumbling into the kitchen on unsteady feet as she tries to stifle a yawn. Penelope slides off the counter, crosses the room to gently hook an arm around her best friend’s waist and direct her to the table.

When she gets there, Hope melts into a chair, resting her arms on the table and dropping her head into them. “What were you guys doing?” she asks, voice muffled by the sleeves of the hoodie she’s got on. It’s Penelope’s, stolen from the floor of her room, and it fits Hope perfectly, even though she’s just a little shorter.

“Just talking,” Josie answers. She seems to hesitate for a moment, then asks, “Do you- I mean, are you feeling better?”

The guilt in her voice is audible enough that Penelope turns to look at her, and Hope sits back up.

“I’m fine,” Hope says, giving her ribs a pat. “Just needed a good night’s sleep.” She sees Josie start to respond, predicts what’s going to be said, and cuts her off before she begins. “And you don’t have to apologise, none of what happened last night was your fault.”

Josie shrugs sheepishly, looking down at her hands.

“Feels like it.”

Penelope walks back over to where Josie is sitting, doesn’t have to turn around to know that Hope is on her heels. She leans across the counter, takes one of Josie’s hands in both of her own.

“None of it was your fault,” she repeats. “Don’t blame yourself for something that you had no control over.”

Hope pulls herself up onto the chair next to Josie, turns to fling her legs across the other girl’s lap. Josie blinks in surprise, but doesn’t otherwise move.

“Yeah, it’s not on you. And anyway, Pen and I are supposed to protect you.”

“You- what?”

“You’re human, right?” Hope narrows her eyes, as if she’d be able to suddenly tell whether or not Josie is human.

“Yes?” Josie glances anxiously between the both of them. “I mean, as far as I’m aware.”

“Then it’s our job to keep you safe.” Hope turns to Penelope, grinning widely. “Right, Pen?”

Penelope sighs, but lets a reluctant smile slide onto her face. “Sure, that’s right.” She looks over at Josie, who still seems confused, and maybe a little alarmed. “Do you remember what we said about ley lines?”

Josie nods slowly.

“Two of them intersect in the woods.”

“Not all towns sit on intersections,” Penelope explains. “And it’s not necessarily a bad place to be, but humans don’t really know how to handle it if something accidentally gets through. Hope and I are here to make sure that no one gets hurt.”

“Oh! Is that why you can turn into animals?”

“Yeah!” Hope jumps in, because she always likes telling this part of the story, whenever they get a chance to. “We don’t really know how, or why, but every town that sits on an intersection gets two people like us. It’s why we moved here, because it was our turn to take care of Mystic Falls.”

For what it’s worth, Josie seems to be absorbing all this new information rather quickly.

“How did you know to come here?”

Hope shrugs.

“Intuition? Dad opened a map in front of us and asked where we wanted to go. Pen and I both pointed at the same place.”

“Is it always two people?”

“It used to be one, but something changed, I guess.” Hope waves a hand absentmindedly through the air. “We think it’s because they got lonely, or something. So now it’s two, and they’re always- what was it called again, Pen?”

“Soulbound.” Penelope lets go of Josie’s hand for half a second to grab hold of Hope’s and push it back down to the counter, not wanting to get hit in the face, accidentally or otherwise. “It’s an old system, though. Not a lot of people talk about it anymore.”

Something in Josie’s expression twists.

“What’s that mean? Soulbound.”

“It means we’re connected, on some intrinsic level. If Hope’s feeling something particularly intense, sometimes I can feel it too.” Penelope tilts her head to the side, trying to remember what she’d read. “It’s not the only type of connection, though. There are others. Like, for example, you and Lizzie are bloodbound.”

“Because we’re sisters?”

Penelope nods.

“Pretty much. If you’re family, then you’re bloodbound.”

“But there’s no emotional connection, or anything.” Hope cuts in. “Like, I can’t feel what my dad is feeling. We’re pretty sure it’s just a fancy way of saying blood-related.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” Josie is quiet for a moment, as if processing everything. “Are there any more?”

“There’s one more,” Hope says, before glancing at Penelope. “Right?”

“Yeah, but it’s rare, so we don’t really know much about it.”

“What is it?” Josie asks, curiosity evident in her tone.

“Heartbound, I think.” Hope leans back, as if in thought, and almost falls off her chair. “All we know is that it’s the only one that’s a choice,” she continues, after righting herself. “You don’t get to choose who you’re soulbound or bloodbound to, but with this one, both people have to be okay with it. Probably not consciously, but it has to be chosen, in some way.”

“We don’t actually know if any of this is accurate.” Penelope eyes Hope as she talks, not certain that her best friend will manage to avoid any other mishaps. “Like I said, it’s a very old system. The only time people really talk about it is in reference to those like us, because we’re always soulbound. Makes the job easier, I think.”

Josie starts to say something else, but is interrupted when another voice floats over to them.

“Glad to see you’re all having a party without me.”

Lizzie stands in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning heavily to one side and gripping the wall to steady herself.

“Did you walk all the way down the stairs yourself? You're not supposed to do that!” Josie is up and out of her seat before anyone else can say anything, wrapping an arm around her sister’s waist and helping her over to the counter. “Why do you have to be so stubborn all the time?”

“I’m not!” Lizzie slots herself into the chair on Hope’s other side. “I was just bored, and you left your phone in the room so I couldn’t text you to come get me.”

Josie sits back down in her chair, leans forward so that she can talk to Lizzie directly, instead of over Hope’s head.

“Okay, that’s my fault. Sorry. But you still shouldn’t have walked all that way.” She deflates a little, expression softening. “How’s it feel?”

“As bad as yesterday, maybe worse,” Lizzie says, sounding like she really just does not care. “Do you think Dad will notice?”

“Probably, yeah.”

“Damn, okay. What’s my excuse?”

“Just say you tripped over something, he won’t ask what.”

Penelope watches the conversation, perplexed. Then she turns to Hope, only to find that her best friend is already looking at her. Hope looks similarly confused, and they exchange matching shrugs, but don’t comment.

“Hey, you guys hungry?” The twins both turn at the same time, and Hope blinks, caught off-guard by the simultaneous movement. “I’ll go wake my dad up, he’ll make breakfast for us.”

“I’ll wake him.” Penelope gently lets go of Josie’s hand, pushes herself off the counter. She doesn’t notice the flash of disappointment on the other girl’s face. “You stay here. Don’t stand up.”

Hope nods, raising both hands in identical peace signs.

“Scout’s honour!”

“That is not the right gesture. Also, you were never a scout.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do we think about the system i cooked up out of nowhere just because i had to squeeze a soulmate au into this fic or die trying
> 
> anyway, the girls are alright ... for now
> 
> catch me on twitter @scorpiowaltz if you want to have a chat! kudos/comments are very appreciated


	11. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lore, you ask? Maybe just a little bit, keep an eye out. It's something that'll be important in a later chapter.

As expected, Klaus ends up making enough food to feed a small army. Penelope’s pretty sure he’s just showing off at this point. Whatever the case, it’s working, and very well, as evidenced by how neither of the twins look away as he flips a pancake much higher than it needs to be flipped. Hope turns to look at Penelope and they both roll their eyes at the same time.

Morning has well and truly faded into early afternoon by the time they’ve all finished eating. Klaus puts his fork down, crosses his arms in front of him, and leans back in his chair.

“Forgive me for bringing this up,” he says, gaze sliding to the other end of the table where Josie and Lizzie are sitting, “but I think we should come up with some sort of plan going forward. For safety’s sake.”

Lizzie rubs absentmindedly at her ankle as she considers Klaus’s words.

“The thing that attacked us, it’s coming back, isn’t it?”

“The beast can only cross over during the new moon.” Hope still has half a pancake on her fork, and she waves it around as she speaks. “And we messed it up pretty bad last night, so I don’t think it’s going to come back this month.”

“But next month?” Lizzie asks, somehow managing to sound both apprehensive and annoyed at the same time. “It’ll come back next month, is what you’re saying.”

“We can’t be sure, but that’s our best guess.” Klaus uncrosses his arms, rests his right hand on the table and drums his fingers across the wood. “In the meantime, you two should try to stay out of the woods.”

“Yeah, I’m not going back in there ever again,” Lizzie mutters. “So, what happens during the next new moon?”

“That’s up to you.” Klaus looks from Lizzie to Josie, making sure that they’re both listening to him. “We want to keep you safe, but not at the expense of your comfort. You’re welcome to stay here, of course, but if you’re going to feel better at home, then you should be there.”

Penelope watches as the twins turn to each other, seemingly having an entire silent conversation within the span of three seconds.

“We’ll come out here," Josie says, and her eyes flicker over to Penelope, but only for a second. “If it isn’t too much of a bother.”

“Not at all,” Klaus says, turning to Hayley as she returns from the kitchen with a fresh carton of orange juice. “Hey, tell the girls they aren’t a bother.”

Hayley passes the carton to Hope, who immediately cracks it open and fills her glass. “Don’t be ridiculous, we’d love to have you around more often.” She takes a seat, smiling warmly across the table at them. “I’m sure Hope and Penelope would agree.”

Hope, who has a mouthful of orange juice, can only nod. Penelope refrains from making a comment about it, but only just. Instead, she nods too, making sure to smile when Josie catches her eye.

“Right, well it’s settled then.” Klaus stands, checking his watch. “Would you girls like me to drive you home? I’m sure your father is expecting you.”

Lizzie makes a noise that sounds a lot like a scoff, and it’s Josie who ends up answering.

“Yes, thank you,” she says. “We’d really appreciate it.”

In an unforeseen but not entirely unexpected turn of events, Hope ends up offering to carry Lizzie to the car, on account of her twisted ankle. Lizzie agrees immediately, and Klaus shadows them out onto the driveway, leaving Penelope and Josie alone in the hall.

“I’m sorry about your birthday,” Penelope says, once it seems as if Josie is intent on being silent forever.

Josie lets out a breathless laugh.

“Would you believe me if I told you it isn’t the worst birthday I’ve had?”

Penelope allows herself a small smile. “Yes, because I also believe that you wouldn’t lie to me.” She takes a step back, turns to watch as Hope waves at the both of them from the bottom of the driveway. “You shouldn’t keep your sister waiting.”

“She could stand to learn a little patience.” Josie grins, but she’s already moving, slipping past Penelope on her way out the door. “See you soon,” she says, fingers catching briefly at Penelope’s waist.

“A girl can dream.” Penelope flows with the drag of Josie’s lingering touch, turns so that she’s fully facing the driveway, and watches as Klaus pulls away.

🐾

They spend the rest of the afternoon in Hope’s room, periodically prodding at her ribs to ensure that they’ve healed properly. Penelope can tell that her best friend has something to say, and just hasn’t found the right words yet. As always, she’s content to wait, talking idly about something or the other and letting Hope stew in her thoughts for a while.

“You told Josie about her mother.”

It is not a question, but Penelope answers as if it were.

“In not so many words. She’s smart enough to connect the dots.”

Hope hums in assent.

“I don’t like keeping secrets, but telling them is worse, somehow.”

“They needed to know,” Penelope says, quiet but sure. “Not knowing almost killed them.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But they need to talk to their dad now.” Hope’s face screws up in consternation. “That’s not going to be fun.”

“We’re here, if they need us.” Penelope turns to look out the window, tracking the path of a particularly fluffy cloud as it travels across the darkening sky. “They know that too.”

“They won’t ask for help,” Hope says dryly, though not without humour.

Penelope spins back around to meet Hope’s eyes. “Of course not.” The words are derisive, but her tone is not. “But at least they know it’s here if they need it.”

🐾

Sometime later, after Hope has both fallen asleep and woken up, Klaus and Hayley poke their heads into the room. Penelope kicks out at Hope’s shin, and her best friend glances up, eyes brightening when she sees her parents.

“Hey, what’s up!”

Klaus walks in first, pulling out the desk chair and offering the seat to Hayley. She takes it, and he stays standing behind her, both hands planted on the back of the chair.

Penelope sits up straighter, and a quick glance at Hope shows that her best friend has done the same. Klaus and Hayley have never been confrontational, which is a big reason why Penelope’s so comfortable in their care. Whatever this is, she knows it’s important.

“Okay, we know that everything’s a bit messy right now, so we just wanted to check in with you two. Make sure that we’re all on the same page." Klaus shifts his gaze from Hope to Penelope, then back again. “This is a real, serious situation, and we know it’s your job to take care of those girls, but we also want you to come home. In one piece.”

“You’ve always taken care of each other,” Hayley adds, “but the truth is that sometimes, you’ll be out there, and we won’t. So we need you to promise that you’ll be safe, to the best of your ability.”

Penelope looks from Hayley to Klaus, then turns to Hope. And Hope, who so rarely wears anything but a grin, has this look of grim determination on her face, protective and fond all at once. Penelope doesn’t need a mirror to know that she’s wearing the exact same expression.

“We promise,” they say at the same time.

Hayley smiles, standing and stepping forward to drop kisses onto the tops of both their heads. “Good,” she says. “And remember that we love you, no matter what.”

Klaus reaches out with both hands to mess with their hair. Hope leans into it, Penelope twists away, and he laughs.

“Dinner at seven,” he says, before following Hayley out of the room and closing the door behind him.

🐾

Evening finds the both of them back in Hope’s room. Penelope hauls the beanbag onto the bed, and they both flop onto it.

“What’s that thing they say?” Hope asks, out of nowhere. “On airplanes,” she clarifies. “About oxygen masks.”

Penelope has next to no idea why they’re talking about this, but she answers anyway.

“Put yours on first?”

“Why?”

“Why are we told to put ours on first?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know.” Penelope shrugs, feels her shoulders pull against the fabric of the beanbag. “Safety, probably.”

Hope seems to consider the answer, then she says, “I wouldn’t.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

For a moment, Penelope stays quiet, then she kicks gently at Hope’s ankles, laughing when her best friend jerks away in surprise, almost falling off the beanbag.

“Me neither.”

🐾

The town is quiet when it’s empty. Penelope can hear the soft brush of her sneakers against the pavement as she ambles past the cinemas. There is no one else around, and when she stops in front of a set of automatic doors, they don’t open.

As dreams go, it could definitely be worse.

Penelope presses one of her hands against the cool glass, watches as it mists up around the warmth of her fingers. She cannot see her reflection.

“There you are.” Josie’s voice is gently chiding, and she’s smiling when Penelope turns around, fondly exasperated. “Come on,” she says, one hand outstretched, the other hanging loosely by her side.

Instinctively, Penelope smiles back.

“Here I am.” She steps forward, takes the offered hand. “Where are we going?”

Josie doesn’t say anything in reply, just gently squeezes Penelope’s fingers as she leads them both down the street. The storefronts change as they go, slowly dissolving until they’re no longer in town. Penelope looks down at her feet, watches as the smooth pavement melts into grass and dirt. When they drift to a gentle stop, she looks back up to see that they’re standing in her own backyard. Josie hasn’t let go of her hand.

“You’ve brought me home.”

Josie beams at her, all bright and happy.

“Yes,” she says. “And no.”

Dreams carry meaning, and Penelope’s always known this, but she also knows that sometimes, they can be very difficult to understand. There’s probably a significance to all of this that she isn’t quite grasping yet.

She’s just about to ask another question when the landscape changes once again. It happens faster, this time. Penelope blinks, and she’s standing in her room. The window is open, and an errant breeze blows through, tickling her fingers.

“I’ve never been in here before.” Josie’s still next to her, and she’s currently spinning in a slow circle, gaze darting back and forth, eyes alight with curiosity.

Penelope waits for her to finish looking before she replies.

“No, I don’t suppose you have.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Does what bother me?” Penelope asks. “You being here?”

Josie nods and shrugs at the same time.

“Yeah, you’ve never invited me up.”

“I’ve never really had the chance to.” Penelope considers the question for a moment, grateful that Josie seems content with waiting. “No,” she says finally. “It doesn’t bother me that you’re here.”

Josie smiles, happy with that answer, and as much as Penelope is aware that none of this is real, she’s still glad that the other girl seems to be having fun.

But she’s still not quite sure what this dream is about, and from the way her vision is blurring at the edges, she can tell that it’s about to end.

“What are you trying to tell me?” Penelope mutters, quiet and under her breath. It’s more a question for herself than anything else, but Josie answers anyway.

“I’m not trying to tell you anything.” She’s still smiling when Penelope glances up at her, patient and knowing at the same time. “We’re in your head, Pen. What are you trying to tell yourself?”

And that’s the last thing Penelope hears before she wakes up, opening her eyes to see Hope hovering above her.

“Good morning! If you’re not in the kitchen in the next two minutes, I’m going to eat your bacon.”

“Be my guest.”

Hope lets out a delighted shout before scrambling to her feet and diving down the stairs. Penelope just closes her eyes again, trying her best to commit the dream to memory. She doesn’t have time to wonder about it now, but it’s likely that it’ll be important sometime in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gotta take the next couple weeks off to play mahjong and go to japan, happy lunar new year to those of you who celebrate, hope the red packet haul is extra good this year
> 
> we'll be back on valentine's day for the next chapter, if you want to talk to me in the interim i can be found on twitter @scorpiowaltz and on curiouscat @superace
> 
> comments & kudos are always appreciated!


	12. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy valentine's day

Josie tells her sister everything, after the ordeal of trying to convince their dad that they’re perfectly fine, apart from Lizzie’s unfortunate accident. He buys their explanation, but it’s still a full twenty minutes before they can disengage and pile into Lizzie’s room.

“What does this mean, exactly?” Lizzie’s up against the headboard of her bed, injured leg stretched out and propped up by every single pillow she owns, bar one, which is resting behind her back. “Mom didn’t die in a car crash? She was, what? Attacked? By that thing?”

“I don’t know.” Josie sighs, uncrosses her legs and rolls over so that she’s lying next to her sister. “Pen didn’t really give me any details, she just said that it didn’t start with us.”

“And that Dad probably knows, right?” Lizzie makes a vague, derisive noise. “Of course he didn’t tell us. Not like it’s any of our business, or anything.”

“He probably just hasn’t found the right time,” Josie says. She usually jumps to their father’s defense whenever Lizzie gets frustrated with him, but this time her words sound hollow even to herself. “I can’t imagine it’s easy to tell your daughters that one of them is going to get ripped apart by a monster.”

“Would it be easier to tell us if we’re dead? Because that almost happened. We would be dead, if Hope and Penelope hadn’t shown up.”

Lizzie’s right, and as much as she wants to, Josie is finding it difficult to come up with a valid reason for why their dad has kept this from them. She supposes she gets it, somewhat, but it still stings a little to know that he’d thought he couldn’t share this with them.

“What now?” Josie turns to look at her sister. “Do we ask him about this?”

“I don’t see why we have to,” Lizzie says, flippant as ever. “He didn’t want to share any information, why should we?”

“I just feel like keeping secrets is a bad idea.”

Lizzie is quiet for a moment, and when she next speaks, her words are laced with regret. “Yeah, well. Maybe you should tell him that.”

🐾

They don’t bring it up with him. There’s never a good time to, anyway. He’s never home for dinner, and whenever he is home, he’s shut away in his office, working on something or the other.

Mornings are much too rushed for proper conversation, and there really is no other time where they’re all together, so Josie tries to push it out of her mind. It’s not a secret, not really. And it’s not like they’re being reckless about it. She doesn’t think she’s going to willingly set foot in the woods ever again, and besides, they’ve got Penelope and Hope.

She doesn’t notice the presents in her room until a few days after the party. They’re stacked in a neat pile on the floor, between her desk and the wall. Josie only realises they’re there when she closes the door to her room and almost trips over a stray package.

It’s a sizeable collection, which is to be expected, since they’d pretty much invited the entire student body to their party, but Josie doesn’t feel any of the childish excitement that usually comes with receiving presents.

She sifts through them, absentmindedly unearthing one of the packages when her fingers catch on the edge of a card. It’s small, neatly wrapped with plain yellow paper, and Josie sees her name written on the front of the card in elegant, flowing script.

On the inside, in the same graceful lettering, is a simple message, wishing her a happy birthday, and underneath that is Penelope’s name.

Josie stands there for a moment, staring down at the present. It’s light, but still substantial enough that she can feel its weight in her hands. She turns it over a few times, then slides a finger under the tape, careful not to tear at the paper.

At first, she can’t quite tell what it is that she’s pulled free from the wrapping, but then it unravels in her hands, and she knows exactly what it is.

A guitar strap, with her name embroidered on the side. Josie doesn’t know that much about stitching, or sewing, or anything to do with needle and thread, but she can tell that this is homemade.

She hadn’t even known that Penelope could do something like this.

Josie steps over the rest of her presents, pads over to the other side of the room where her guitar is sitting. It takes her a while to figure out how to piece everything together properly, but when she does, it fits perfectly.

She strums an experimental chord, marveling at how the guitar sits right where she needs it to be.

Penelope must have spent an extraordinary amount of time on this.

Josie puts her guitar back on its stand, grabbing her phone off her desk before falling onto her bed. The only notification she has is a message from Lizzie, a question about what they’re doing for dinner. She swipes it aside for later, deciding that she’ll worry about dinner when it’s actually dinnertime.

She spends a minute or two just staring vacantly at her homescreen, wondering whether or not she should take a nap this late in the afternoon, when another message slides in. The name that accompanies it causes Josie to sit up, and suddenly, she’s wide awake.

It’s more endearing than anything else, but Penelope texts like she talks. Honest, to the point, and sincere in a way that is tangible, even though the screen. Josie can’t help but smile as she reads through the message.

It’s comforting, to know that someone else is looking out for her. Not that Josie needs the extra supervision, but there’s just something very nice about the feeling of being cared for. Josie likes that Penelope is thinking about her.

Before she can spiral down that mortifying train of thought, Josie turns her attention back to her phone, typing up a quick reply. She hits send, then immediately remembers that she still hasn’t thanked Penelope for the gift.

Instead of composing another message, and without giving herself enough time to overthink it, Josie taps on Penelope’s icon (a photo where she’s sipping at some hot cocoa, eyeing the camera above the rim of the mug) and starts a call.

It rings just long enough for Josie to consider just hanging up, but then the line clicks, and Penelope’s even tone filters through the phone.

“Hello?”

“Pen! Hey, it’s me.”

“I know it’s you, Josie. I saw your name when my phone rang.” Penelope sounds vaguely amused, and, as always, endlessly patient. “Did you need something?”

It takes Josie several seconds to answer. “Oh, I just wanted to thank you for the gift! I didn’t have a chance to start opening my presents until today.”

“You’re very welcome. Does it fit alright?”

“It fits perfectly.” Josie lets her gaze slide over to where her guitar is sitting, the strap hanging loosely from its body. “Thank you so much.”

“I guess I know you well enough to get you a good present,” Penelope says, light and happy.

Josie laughs. “I think we crossed that bridge when you stopped that monster from ripping my head off.”

Penelope goes quiet for a moment, the way she does whenever she’s thinking over her words, then she says, “I’m sorry that everything’s been sprung on you so quickly.”

“Well, there’s nothing to be done about that now." Josie shrugs, then remembers that Penelope can’t see her. “The best I can do is try to adapt.”

“You’re the best of us, Josie Saltzman.”

The way Penelope says those words, with no embellishment, or disclaimer, or attempt to water them down, is like a breath of fresh air. Josie isn’t used to straightforward compliments, but with Penelope, they’re the only kind she ever gets.

“Doesn’t feel like it.” Josie rolls onto her back, kicking her legs out toward the ceiling. “But thank you.”

Penelope laughs softly. “I think very highly of you,” she says. “You haven’t proven me wrong yet.”

It’s at times like these that Josie wishes she could reach across the distance between them, shake Penelope by the shoulders, and ask what she really means, when she says something like that. That’s the paradox of her. Nothing is hidden, but somehow it still feels like Josie’s missing a piece of the puzzle.

In the end, she just blows out a quiet breath, and says, “I hope I never do.”

🐾

“You’re half in love with her already," Lizzie says. “Or maybe even fully in love with her. I don’t know. Definitely at least half, though.”

Josie pushes the empty pizza box aside, making a mental note to take the trash out later. “What are you talking about?”

“I know it’s difficult to see when you’re the one involved, but trust me on this.”

“Trust you on what, exactly?”

Lizzie sighs, inching both the chair she’s sitting on, and the chair she’s resting her leg on, closer to the table. “You,” she says, with the gravitas of a brain surgeon preparing for their first operation, “are gay.”

Not quite, but close enough. Josie nods.

“You’re also in love with Penelope.”

Josie isn’t quite sure how those two statements have any correlation, but is interested in finding out, so she says, “Don’t know if that’s true, but do elaborate.”

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to,” Lizzie repeats, leaning back in her seat. “Don’t worry, it’ll make more sense soon.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

Lizzie nods sagely. “That’s fine. But when you do figure it out, just remember that I told you about it first.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Josie stands, picks up the empty pizza box. “I’m going to take the trash out. Don’t try to stand while I’m gone.”

“What if I want to go back to my room?”

“You can wait five minutes for me to come back and help you.”

Surprisingly enough, Lizzie does wait the five minutes. She’s tapping at something on her phone when Josie steps back into the kitchen, making her way over to the sink to wash her hands.

“Good to see you’re still capable of following instructions.”

“Yeah, well. The more I try to walk on my own, the longer it’ll take to heal.”

“Oh, really? What an interesting idea. Could it be that maybe someone told you that about seven hundred times in the past week, and you’ve chosen not to listen until now?”

“Alright, don’t need to get snippy.” Lizzie swings her leg off the chair, using the table as leverage to push herself into a standing position. “Come help me, then.”

Josie rolls her eyes, but dutifully crosses the kitchen to wrap an arm around her sister’s waist, starting them in the direction of Lizzie’s room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor about this?”

“What would that accomplish? They’d probably just tell me to stay off it, and you do enough of that. I’m not about to pay someone to give me the exact same instructions as you are.”

Josie’s pretty sure that there’s a noticeable difference between what she can say about an injury, as compared to a certified physician, but decides not to push the point any further. It’s a hollow argument, and that’s not what either of them need right now.

“Dad said he can’t drive us to school tomorrow, so we’ll have to take the bus.”

Lizzie frowns as she manoeuvres herself into bed, making sure to prop her leg up on one of her pillows. “I hate the bus.”

“Well, it’s either that or walking. And you’re not very good at walking right now.”

“It takes a whole five minutes to get to school, I can handle five minutes of being on my feet.”

They live pretty near to the school, but not close enough for their journey to be five minutes, and they both know that. Josie sighs, going to turn Lizzie’s lights off for her.

“We’ll see how your ankle feels in the morning. If you’re really okay with walking, then I guess we can walk.”

“The bus always smells like cabbage. I’ll be okay with walking.”

There’s really nothing else she can do, so Josie acquiesces with a shrug. “Fine, it’s your decision. Goodnight, Lizzie.”

“Night, Jo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back! hopefully on the normal schedule from now on, if all goes to plan, this fic is nowhere near complete and i am still writing it as we go, so hopefully i don't run out of chapters to post
> 
> in the meanwhile, you can find me on twitter @scorpiowaltz and curiouscat @superace if you've got anything to say
> 
> comments & kudos are very appreciated and they help keep the ol' writing machine going


	13. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucky number thirteen, let's go.

The night of the new moon descends upon them like a hoard of children onto a freshly broken piñata. Swiftly, and with an unexpected vengeance. They don’t really have much of a plan, which is slightly frightening, but Josie sits in the living room like they ask her to, trying her best not to think about what could be lurking in the woods.

Lizzie doesn’t seem half as bothered, humming happily under her breath as she applies a top coat to her freshly painted nails.

It’s a quiet evening, which is why Josie startles when she feels the couch dip next to her.

“Sorry.” Penelope inches just a little bit closer, reaching over to take Josie’s hand in a gesture of comfort. “Just wanted to make sure you guys were doing okay.”

They both turn to Lizzie, who’s now blowing on her fingers, and Josie laughs.

“I think we’ll be alright,” she says. “Will you be here all night?”

“Hope will.” Penelope glances toward the doorway that leads to the kitchen, where everyone else is gathered in what Josie can only assume is a strategy meeting. “I’ll be in the woods.”

Josie stills, her shoulders tensing involuntarily. “What?”

“We decided that it would be better for one of us to be out there, just to keep an eye on things.” Penelope’s voice is gentle, as if she knows she’s saying something Josie doesn’t want to hear and is trying to soften the blow. “You and Lizzie will be safe here.”

“What about you? Are you sure this is the best idea? You’ve seen that thing, you can’t fight it alone!”

“Which is why I won’t.” Penelope smiles, her eyes crinkling at the edges. Josie has to concentrate very hard on her next few breaths. “If anything happens, I’ll let Hope know, and we’ll handle it together.”

“How are you going to do that? If you’re out there, and she’s in here.”

Penelope taps a finger against the side of her head. “We’re linked up, remember?”

Right, the soulbond.

Josie still doesn’t like the idea of Penelope out in the woods alone, especially with that monster roaming around, but she supposes she’ll just have to be content with stewing in her own anxiety all night. Or, at the very least, until Penelope returns.

“Sun’s just about to set.” Hope steps into the room, and Josie doesn’t miss the way Lizzie’s gaze immediately cuts over to her. “You ready to go, Pen?”

Penelope gives Josie’s hand one last squeeze, a bright smile flashing across her face for just a second before it's gone. Then she stands, stretching upwards onto her toes.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Make sure you’re listening, okay?”

Hope rolls her eyes, but she pulls Penelope into a quick hug, muttering something that Josie can’t quite hear before letting the other girl go. Penelope disappears into the kitchen, and there’s a flurry of muted conversation before Josie hears the creak of the back door opening and closing.

🐾

It’s quiet for a while. Klaus asks if they’re hungry, pushes a bowl of popcorn into Josie’s arms even though she says she’s alright for now. They’re all in the living room, the sound of the TV a low murmur in the background. None of them are watching, but the white noise is a small comfort.

Hope is in the chair closest to the window, and every so often she leans closer to it, as if listening for something that no one else can hear. On the couch next to her, Lizzie is stretched out, alternating between tapping on her phone and taking what seems to be ten minute naps.

Klaus and Hayley have vanished into some other part of the house, but every so often, one of them peeks in to make sure that they’re all doing fine.

For the most part, it’s a peaceful night.

Josie’s picking stray kernels out of the bowl when there’s an exclamation from her left, and she looks up to see Hope on her feet, eyes wide and shoulders tensed.

Lizzie’s woken from her latest nap, half-sitting up on the couch as they both stare at Hope, who still hasn’t moved. Josie puts the bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table, presses her hands into the cushion underneath her. Before she can decide if she should stand and walk over, Hope turns toward them, blue eyes dark in the warm, yellow light of the living room.

“Stay here,” she says. “Understand? Do not follow me. Do not leave the house. Do not even leave this room. Just stay here until I’m back.”

Then she’s gone, faster than Josie can track, and all that’s left is the crackle of voices still leaking from the TV, mutterings from some movie that none of them have been paying attention to.

It takes one long, measured moment for Josie’s thoughts to click into place, the jumble of loose notions finally coalescing into a single, concrete whole.

“Pen’s in trouble,” she says, already halfway across the room, her feet carrying her toward the kitchen, toward the back door. The hum of anxiety that’s been sitting on the edge of her thoughts has crescendoed into a chorus of worry, and Josie can’t shake the feeling that something has gone terribly, horribly wrong.

Lizzie hooks a hand over the curve of her elbow, pulling her to a stop. “Wait, hold on.” Josie turns, impatient, but the spike of irritation that had bloomed in her gut melts away when she meets her sister’s eyes. “We don’t know what’s happened, and Hope said to stay here. We should probably listen to her.”

Josie knows that Lizzie’s right, that running headfirst into the woods just goes against everything they’ve been trying to achieve, but something inside her is trying to claw its way to the surface, pushing back on the logic she’s trying desperately to retain.

Her mind says _stay_, but her heart screams _go_.

So Josie goes.

Behind her, she distantly hears Lizzie mutter a string of colourful curses, then a scatter of footsteps, less controlled than they usually are, as her sister scrambles to follow her. Josie doesn’t stop running until she’s a couple dozen paces into the woods, where she halts so abruptly that Lizzie crashes into her.

“Ow! What gives?”

Josie turns to find her sister rubbing at the underside of her jaw, presumably the part of her that had collided with Josie’s shoulder.

“Sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” Lizzie straightens, turning in a slow circle as she tries to get her bearings. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” Josie says, just now realizing that she’d been moving on instinct alone. She copies her sister’s movements, spinning around and trying to pinpoint their location. The woods are as dark and unfamiliar as they’ve always been, each tree no different from the next, but as Josie pivots on the spot, she feels a tug in the middle of her spine, a gentle fishhook of energy.

“If we’re lost again-”

“That way.” Josie points, in what she knows must seem like an arbitrary direction. “We’re not far.”

“Far from what?” Lizzie asks, even as she follows, climbing over stray roots and ducking under low-hanging branches. “Where are we even going, Jo?”

Josie doesn’t answer, just continues to trudge forward, each step magnifying the feeling of dread that’s started to coil around her bones.

It doesn’t take long for the trees to start thinning around them, and when Josie pushes her way into a tiny, hidden alcove, she feels her heart grind to a halt.

Next to her, Lizzie lets out a quiet gasp, but Josie can’t focus on anything but the still, quiet shape in front of her, the small, wretched sound of Hope’s voice, begging for Penelope to wake up.

She must make some sort of noise, because Hope looks up. It takes a second for her to realize what’s going on, but then the cold terror on her face gives way to burning rage.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, the question ripping from her throat like a snarl, feral and wild. “I told you to stay put!”

“I-” Josie can’t find any of her words, can’t even begin to explain why she’s out here, how she’d even known where to go. She tries to take a step forward, stops herself when Hope makes a strangled sort of sound.

At first, she thinks the other girl is trying to keep her away from Penelope, but as Josie looks, she realizes that the grass in front of her is dark and wet, slicked back with something that isn’t rain.

And suddenly she feels very, very afraid.

“She’s alive,” Hope says, probably in response to the expression on Josie’s face. “She’s breathing. But we’re supposed to heal faster than this, and it’s not happening.”

“Um, not to derail from this-”

Hope predicts the rest of Lizzie’s sentence, cuts her off by saying, “I think I broke two of its legs. We’ll be alright for the time being.”

A dull roar is building in the back of Josie’s skull, expanding ever outward, pressing against her mess of panicked thoughts and drowning out all coherency with sheer, blinding fear.

When she opens her mouth, the shaky voice that comes out sounds so foreign that, for a second, she doubts it’s her own. “What are we going to do?”

“Save her, obviously.” Lizzie crosses the space between them, crouches down next to Hope, who’s still hovering protectively over Penelope’s prone form. “Think, Hope. Is there anywhere we can go?”

Hope takes one, shuddering breath, then closes her eyes. Moments later, they fly open again. “It’s a long shot,” she says, “but also probably our only option right now.”

Josie doesn’t need any more information than that. “Let’s go,” she says. “How far?”

🐾

The answer, she learns, is far enough that by the time they get there, Hope in her canine form and carrying Penelope on her back, it already feels like it’s too late.

Josie looks around, sees nothing but a nondescript clearing. It’s not the one they’d been in before, but there’s nothing special about it either. She goes to take a step forward and is stopped by a low growl. Glancing down, Josie sees Hope attempting to nudge her backwards.

“Jo.” Her sister comes up behind her, placing one hand on her shoulder, using the other to point downwards in front of them. “I think she’s saying not to cross the line.”

It’s dark, and in her haste to find whatever it is that Hope had led them here for, Josie hadn’t noticed the row of wildflowers at her feet. She traces their path, only to end up right where she’d started.

A perfect circle.

Josie watches as Hope carefully pads forward, gently laying Penelope down within the circle before taking a step back. In a blink, she’s human again.

“Please,” Hope says, her voice a high, soft whine. “Whatever the cost.”

There is no discernible reply, none that Josie can hear, but a sharp breeze slices through the clearing, whistling between the wildflowers. Josie shuts her eyes against the sudden wind, and when she opens them, Penelope is human. More importantly, Penelope is visibly healing.

The fishhook in her spine gives a fierce, yearning tug, and Josie jolts forward without even realizing that she’s moved. It is Lizzie’s arm around her waist that stops her from going anywhere, but Hope’s hand over her mouth that prevents her from speaking.

“Don’t,” Hope intones, a low warning. “Don’t cross the line. Don’t say her name.”

It’s a long, tense wait, but when Penelope finally sits up, slow, and less coordinated than she usually is, but blissfully, wonderfully alive, the shot of relief that fizzes through Josie’s bones is so palpable that for a second she wonders if it could lift her off the ground.

Penelope winces as she gets to her feet, but doesn’t stumble. She looks around her, then asks, in an even, steady voice, “What do I owe?”

The sound that tears its way out from between Hope’s teeth is alarmingly savage, but Penelope doesn’t so much as flinch.

Again, there is no answer that Josie can hear, but that same, sharp breeze ices over them, and both Hope and Penelope seem surprised by the seemingly wordless reply.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Penelope says. “I won’t overstay my welcome.”

The moment she crosses back over the line of flowers, Hope is there, speaking low and quick, then pulling her into a hug, one that Penelope returns immediately.

Josie suddenly feels exhausted, so much so that she doesn’t notice the shuffle of movement around her until someone gently takes her hand, and she looks up to meet Penelope’s eyes.

There’s the pull again, except this time, it’s not so much frenzied as it is delicate, a guiding force instead of a controlling one.

“Jojo.” The nickname is new, but very welcome. Josie feels a warmth in her chest that starts to expand, spreading slowly through her veins. “Thanks for coming to save me."

Penelope’s soft, grateful words seem to cause a shift in Josie’s peripherals, as if her entire world has just rearranged itself.

“You’re welcome,” Josie says, the only thing she can voice right now. “I’d like to go back now, please.”

“Me too.” Penelope glances behind her, where Josie can see Hope and Lizzie having a hushed conversation. “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, nothing like a little bit of tension to heal the soul. Speaking of tension, let me know if I did alright, I don't usually write scenes that are packed with time-sensitive action.
> 
> For those of you who don't have Twitter, or don't follow me there, this chapter comes with some amazing art which you can find [here](https://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz/status/1231564544939397121). It doesn't have anything to do with the chapter itself, just something cute to tide us through these trying times.
> 
> As always, I am findable on Twitter @scorpiowaltz and CuriousCat @superace
> 
> If you want to talk to me on Tumblr I'm @softpluto
> 
> We do our best to divorce ourselves from external validation but alas the world will not spin without it, comments and kudos are very appreciated.


	14. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of your questions are answered. Others? Well, who can say what the future holds.

Klaus just about loses his entire mind when they descend upon the back steps, a tangled mess of pain and exhaustion. He looks like he doesn’t quite know where to start with them, and just stands there, mouth half-open.

“Okay,” he says, after a lengthy silence. “It’s late. Whatever happened, we can talk about it in the morning.”

Penelope watches as he switches from worried father to polite host, ushering the twins up the stairs and toward the guest bathroom, muttering about clean towels as he passes her by.

She doesn’t really have the energy to process anything right now, seeing as it’s taking everything she has just to remain upright and standing, so Penelope doesn’t notice that someone’s got their hands on her shoulders until they lean down to look her right in the eye.

Hayley’s got that expression on her face, the one she’d used to wear all the time, when Hope and Penelope would come home with blood-stained knees and bright-toothed smiles. At ten-years old, neither of them had been quite so adept at avoiding injury as they are now. They’d used to always push themselves too far, as most children do, and Hayley would fuss over them, even though they’d probably needed less fussing than regular kids.

Right now, Penelope feels like she’s ten again, standing obediently still as Hayley’s hands flutter around her, checking for wounds that no longer exist. Except this time, it’s not just the physical. This time, there’s a marrow-deep ache in the bones of her ribs, twisting, and stretching, and tugging. It feels like she’s slowly being pulled apart.

Penelope closes her eyes against the sensation. Hayley’s gentle, searching hands will not find it, not tonight, and if Hayley doesn’t know, then maybe it doesn’t exist. Maybe, for a few selfish minutes, Penelope can pretend that she is ten again, following Hope through the streets of New Orleans, carrying nothing but a sleeve of quarters and the _ba-thump_ of her heart.

“Hey.” Penelope opens her eyes to Hayley’s worried frown. “Are you okay?”

Less than an hour ago, she’d been bleeding out in the middle of the woods. Now she’s home. Raw, and aching, but home. And that’s due to Hope, who had come running after her. To Josie and Lizzie, who had followed, even though the woods is the last place they should be.

It doesn’t matter if she’s okay right now, because Penelope knows that there are people around her who will make sure that she is, no matter what. So she shakes her head, but smiles.

“Not yet,” she says, pausing as Hope takes her hand. “But I will be.”

🐾 

Penelope’s freshly showered, and halfway back to her room, when something makes her stop in the middle of the hallway. She stands there for a full thirty seconds, wondering what’s happened, before realizing that her ribs are no longer aching.

Next to her, the door she’d unknowingly stalled in front of swings open.

“Pen? You okay?”

“Josie.” Penelope takes a step forward, bringing her closer to the other girl, then frowns, because she hadn’t meant to move at all. “I’m getting there,” she says. “What about you?”

“Me?” Josie seems surprised by the question. “I’m alright, I guess.”

Penelope regards her for a moment, then asks, “You sure?”

“I mean.” Josie shrugs, one shoulder lifting higher than the other. “Yeah. I think I just haven’t had the time to process everything yet.” She seems to hesitate for a fraction of a second, then takes a tiny step back. “Do you want to come in for a while?”

The ache in Penelope’s ribs springs to life again, giving an affirmative tug, and she goes along with it, not in the mood to fight back against anything else tonight. “Sure,” she says. “I probably owe you an explanation for what happened.”

“No, it’s fine." Josie pushes lightly on the door, so that it drifts toward the doorframe, but doesn’t click shut. “It’s been a long night, my questions can wait.” She ambles over to one of the beds, taking a cross-legged seat before looking at Penelope expectantly.

“I don’t mind.” Penelope takes the cue, padding over to sit at the foot of the bed. “Talking about it will help, I think.” She crosses her legs underneath her as well, turning so that she’s facing Josie fully. “What do you want to know?”

“Well.” Josie picks up a pillow, hugging it to her chest. “How did that circle of flowers heal you?”

“It wasn’t really healing,” Penelope says, tracing a circle on the duvet in front of her, then tapping the middle. “The ring of flowers that you saw was a fairy circle. If you’re inside, then anything supernatural is excised from your body. That’s why I shifted back before anything else happened.”

Josie stares at the vague, circular indent on the duvet. “And your wounds were supernatural, which is why they disappeared.”

Penelope nods. “That’s right,” she says. “You can only communicate with the fairies if you’re in their circle, and they take away any powers that you might have because they like having the upper hand in negotiations. Usually, people go in to ask for something.”

“But there’s always a price, right?” Josie looks up, meeting Penelope’s eyes. “Hope mentioned a cost.”

“No one will grant your wish for free. The moment you step into the circle, you’re in their debt. Most of the time, the price is too high.” Penelope glances down at her hands. “I got lucky. They don’t like that beast either, and us trying to get rid of it is good enough payment for them.”

Josie is quiet for a moment, and Penelope lets the silence hold. Finally, what she says is, “Hope didn’t let me say your name.”

“Oh.” Penelope blinks. “If you’d said my name, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“What?”

“If the fairies learn your name, your real name, while you’re within the circle, then you belong to them forever. We don’t really know what that means, or what happens once you go with them, but no one ever comes back.”

Penelope watches as Josie processes that information, then almost topples backwards in surprise when the other girl crawls over to pull her into a hug.

“I’m really glad you came back,” Josie says.

It takes a moment, but Penelope returns the hug. Her ribs hum with blatant approval, and the ache returns, but it no longer hurts. There’s still a tugging in her bones, but now everything is moving in the opposite direction. Penelope isn’t being pulled apart anymore, she’s getting stitched back together.

The door swings open, and Josie falls away. Penelope turns to see Lizzie step in, followed closely by Hope.

“There you are.” Hope extends both arms, makes beckoning motions with her hands. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Penelope laughs, starts to stand but is stopped by cool fingers against her wrist. She glances back to see Josie’s soft smile, her kind eyes.

“Goodnight, Pen,” she says, her quiet voice carrying through the air like sparkles of stardust, alighting gently on Penelope’s bed-warmed skin. “Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, Jojo.” Penelope smiles back, the nickname rolling neatly off her tongue. “You too.”

🐾 

“You’ve warmed up to her pretty quick,” Hope says, as she stacks two pillows together and collapses against them. “And you never warm up to people.”

Penelope yanks one of the pillows out from under her, ignoring the startled yelp that Hope lets out. “I warmed up to you.”

They’ve turned the lights off, but the curtains are open, and enough errant light floats through the window that Penelope can see Hope’s grin perfectly.

“Yeah, well. I didn’t really give you a choice about that. Also, you were less prickly when we were kids.”

Hope darts away just as Penelope kicks out, so that her foot meets empty air.

“I’m not prickly.” Penelope rolls onto her side, reaches out to grab a fistful of Hope’s shirt and pull the other girl back towards her. “I just don’t like most people, because most people are annoying.”

Hope flings every single one of her limbs onto Penelope’s body, proceeds to lie there as if this is how she plans to fall asleep, then says, “You’ve just got a lower tolerance for when things are irritating.”

“Things are irritating almost all of the time,” Penelope grumbles, trying very hard to ignore the irony of her current situation, but not moving to push Hope away. “Anyway, you like them too.”

Hope twists around, then slides an arm through the front pocket of Penelope’s hoodie, far enough that her hand appears on the other side. “Yes,” she says, “but the Venn diagram of people I like, and people you like, is not usually a circle.”

That much is true. Penelope doesn’t make friends easily, but that’s because she doesn’t want to. People are messy. They’re fickle, and unpredictable. She doesn’t like the idea of putting effort into a relationship that might fall apart just as soon as it comes together.

It had been different, with Hope. It had been different because Hope is the kind of person who refuses to give up. Back then, and even now; once she sets her mind on something, she follows through to the end.

And Penelope, who despises the thought of wasting her time on someone who doesn’t think she’s worth theirs, had to realize that Hope had just been living up to her name. Because for weeks and weeks, she’d been investing her energy into what had essentially been a one-sided friendship, blindly believing that, at some point, Penelope would start giving it back.

Hope’s undying trust, naïve as it had been, is the only reason why they’re friends today. And she would never agree, but Penelope owes her so much more than can be put into words.

“They’re interesting.” Penelope shifts just a little, so that Hope is in a more comfortable position. “The twins, I mean. And we’re stuck with them for a while, so there’s no point in trying to stay away.”

Hope makes a vague sort of sound, the kind that doesn’t really mean anything at all. “It’s okay if you like them," she says. “You’re less prickly when Josie’s around.”

“I’m not prickly,” Penelope says again, though there’s not really any fight left in her voice. “But you’re right, I suppose. Josie makes everything less irritating.”

“Good, I’m glad that you’ve got someone other than me now.”

“That’s what your mom said.”

“Mom’s always right.” Hope yawns, pushing her face further into Penelope’s hoodie. “Hey, Pen?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really glad you’re okay.”

Penelope gazes up at her ceiling, counting the beats between Hope’s gradually slowing breaths. She hasn’t really had the time to process everything that’s happened, but it really is a miracle that she’s still alive.

“Me too,” she says, because it’s true. Then, “Thanks for coming to get me,” because it’s something that she needs Hope to hear.

They’ve been friends for a really long time, longer than Penelope ever thought she’d be friends with anyone, and most days, they can communicate just by looking at each other. But some words have to be spoken aloud, if only because they can’t remain unsaid.

Hope understands this, so all she says is, “Don’t know who I’d be without you, Pen.”

And that’s what it is, really, when all is said and done. They’ve spent many, many years together; growing, learning, changing. Enough that now, when Penelope looks at herself, she sees a little bit of Hope too.

Honestly, she’s better off for it. Because the truth is, Hope is the only reason why Penelope isn’t that quiet, lonely girl anymore.

Hope is also the only reason why Penelope even still has a family to come home to.

So it’s not an exaggeration, not really, when she says, “Don’t know who I’d be without you either.”

The only answer she gets is a very sleepy snuffle, evidence that Hope probably isn’t listening anymore. Penelope laughs once, softly, before closing her eyes as well.

“Alright, then. We can talk tomorrow. Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to have to take a short break while I get thrown headfirst into another year of school. A week, maybe two, not long at all. You won't even notice I'm gone. Forgive me, the shackles of institutional education aren't easy to shake off.
> 
> If you'd like to talk to me in the interim, I can be found on Twitter @scorpiowaltz


	15. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little something to tide us over these trying times, from me to you.

Sometimes, though never on purpose, Josie forgets that she still has to worry about school.

It’s not her fault, not really. But these days, she pays more attention to the app on her phone that tells her the phases of the moon than her planner. Which, in itself, isn’t a bad idea, but can result in frequent bouts of forgetting all her other responsibilities.

Today, it is comfortably warm, and Josie is halfway to taking an afternoon nap when she suddenly remembers that she’s got an assignment that she hasn’t started. An assignment that’s due tomorrow.

“Yikes,” she mutters, sitting upright and sweeping her hands across her bedspread, in search of her phone. She finds it underneath a pillow, and immediately calls the one person who can help her.

Penelope picks up on the third ring.

“Hello, Josie.”

“Pen, hey. Have you done the homework?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be a little more specific. Which homework?”

Josie distractedly runs a hand through her hair. “For music," she explains. “The analysis thing.”

There’s silence for a moment as Penelope thinks, then she says, “Oh, yes. I’ve done that. Why?”

“I haven’t. And I don’t know where to start. Do you think you can help me?”

As with all questions, Penelope considers it for a moment before answering.

“Sure, I’d be happy to.” There’s a brief pause before she continues. “I’m not sure I could talk you through it over the phone, though.”

“That’s fine,” Josie says, already shuffling to the edge of her bed and getting to her feet, looking around her room in search of a jacket. “I’ll come over.”

“Alright,” Penelope agrees. “I’ll ask Klaus if he’s free to pick you up.”

Josie shakes her head, then realises that Penelope can’t see her over the phone. “No, it’s okay. I’ll take my bike.”

“Are you sure? Klaus wouldn’t mind.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Josie finds a jacket, finally, and slings it over her shoulder, deciding to put it on after she’s left the house. “See you in a bit!”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Penelope says. “Be safe.”

🐾

The half an hour it would have taken Josie to get to Penelope’s house becomes fifty minutes when she decides to stop for ice-cream.

It’s not a particularly hot day, but she’d found six dollars in her pocket, and that had been enough for a double scoop in a wafer cone. Josie gets Peanut Butter Crunch and Strawberry Shortcake, leans her bike up against the wall of the shop, and takes a seat at one of the outdoor tables.

Mystic Falls bustles quietly around her, the white noise of footsteps and conversations as everyone goes about their day.

Josie’s been here most of her life, enough of it that she doesn’t remember living anywhere else. She knows, has been told, that she and Lizzie were born in another town, far away, but all their dad ever says is that they’re never going back, so there’s no point in telling them about it.

She’s never given it much thought, never really had any reason to. Josie doesn’t like dwelling, has learned that pacing in her own mind never leads to anything good.

“So don’t do it,” she mutters to herself, popping the last bit of wafer into her mouth before standing and dusting her hands off.

She ambles over to her bike, waves goodbye to the boy who’d sold her the cone, then hops back onto the seat and continues on her journey.

🐾

Hayley answers the door, looking absolutely delighted at the fact that it’s Josie who’s standing on her porch.

“Lovely to see you again,” she says, once the door is closed and they’re both standing in the foyer. Josie’s just toed her shoes off and slid them into an empty space on the rack. “Klaus was all ready to go get you, Penelope had to push him back into his chair.”

Josie laughs, slides her hands into the pockets of her shorts as she rocks backwards onto the heels of her feet. “Well, I’ll probably need a ride home,” she says. “If that isn’t too much of a bother.”

Hayley smiles at her, equal parts fondness and exasperation. The look of a mother who can’t help but be amused by their child’s ridiculousness.

Josie can’t remember the last time she’d been on the receiving end of that look. Inexplicably, she suddenly feels close to tears.

“Not a bother at all," Hayley says, reaching to place her hand gently on Josie’s shoulder, leaning forward to drop a kiss on top of her head. “Now, go on. Penelope’s been waiting.”

🐾

Penelope has, indeed, been waiting. Josie climbs the stairs slowly, trying to remember which door to approach. It doesn’t matter, in the end, since there’s only one that stands half-open. An invitation.

She knocks anyway, just to be polite.

“Come in.”

Penelope’s voice, high and sweet, swings through the air, and Josie’s in the room before she even registers that she’s moving.

“Hey,” she says, feeling shy for no reason at all.

“Hello.” Penelope sounds amused, but all she does is sit up from where she’d been leaning back against her headboard, looking unfairly pretty in the sunlight that splashes across her bed. “I hope you got here alright.”

“It was fine,” Josie answers, a bit too quickly. She takes a breath, stepping carefully across the room to take a seat in Penelope’s desk chair. “Would’ve gotten here sooner, but I stopped to get ice-cream on the way.”

“From the place next to the cinema?”

“Yeah! Have you been there?”

Penelope nods. “Once,” she says. “Hope wanted ice-cream, so we went to check it out. Their wafer cones are good.”

“Right? We should go together sometime.”

It takes a moment, in which Penelope remains blessedly silent, but Josie’s words catch up to her, and she almost tips backwards in her haste to add a caveat.

“I mean- only if you want to. I wasn’t-”

“It’s okay.” Penelope doesn’t seem bothered at all, and her voice has taken on that patient quality that Josie is so familiar with. “I’d love to go with you.”

More often than not, it takes longer than it rightfully should for Josie to catch up to emotional cues. She’s not obtuse, just a little slow. And recently, with the introduction of Penelope into her life, this slowness has felt more pronounced than ever.

Josie’s not quite sure what’s going on with the both of them. She’s been obvious enough about her own feelings that even Lizzie’s caught on without much trouble. And Penelope is definitely not the kind of girl who fumbles with emotional cues as much as Josie does, but the trouble is that she rarely ever acts on them.

The question isn’t whether or not Penelope knows about Josie’s feelings, it’s why she hasn’t said anything about them.

There’s a possibility that they’re already dating and Josie just hasn’t caught on yet. Honestly, at this point, she’s too afraid to ask.

But the truth is, she really enjoys their time together, and slapping a label onto it won’t change how she feels. Josie’s learned to roll with the punches, secure in the belief that if she ever stumbles, Penelope will be right there to catch her.

“Sounds like a plan,” she says, before stretching one leg out to push gently against the desk, so that her chair glides across the floor, coming to a stop at the foot of Penelope’s bed. “So, about that assignment.”

🐾

Josie manages about an hour of good, honest work before her attention span decides that it’s had enough.

Penelope catches on almost immediately, reaching to hit pause on the song they’ve been listening to on repeat for all of the past hour. The assignment is an analysis, and Josie’s always loved music, but even she’s getting tired of trying to decide if that one minor chord is a modulation or a key change.

“I need a break,” she says, sliding her pencil behind her ear before pulling up into a stretch.

At some point during the hour, she’d migrated from the desk chair to the bed, and now Josie’s sitting opposite Penelope with the laptop open between them, sheets of hastily scribbled notes scattered all around.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

The bed shifts, and Josie looks up as she slides backwards as a result of the sudden redistribution of weight.

Penelope’s on her feet, fingers interlocked and arms over her head as she arcs into a stretch. Her eyes are closed, and the expression on her face, languid and satisfied, is so undoubtedly feline that Josie can’t help but let out a quiet breath of laughter.

“Something the matter?”

Josie looks up to find Penelope smiling bemusedly down at her, sharp features softened by the warm glow of late afternoon sun, and doesn’t manage to engage in enough cognitive thought to find any words. She shakes her head, hoping the non-verbal answer will suffice.

As always, Penelope doesn’t pry. Instead, she asks, “Are you hungry? Klaus would love to make us a snack, he’s been on a bit of a grilled cheese bender lately.”

Through a divine miracle, or maybe just sheer force of will, Josie finds her voice again. “Sure,” she says. “That sounds great.”

Penelope gifts her with one last smile before stepping delicately around the bed and disappearing out the door. Not six seconds after her footsteps, quiet and measured, fade gently away, Josie hears another door open.

This time, the accompanying footsteps are louder and quicker, clattering haphazardly down the stairs. Josie doesn’t need any visual confirmation to know that it’s Hope, most likely on a mission to go get a snack of her own.

It’s kind of adorable, the way they both subconsciously embody their other forms. The similarities are glaringly obvious, now that Josie knows to look for them. She wonders if either Hope or Penelope are aware of their own habits.

In any case, it’s a question for later.

Her assignment isn’t about to do itself.

🐾

Penelope returns some time later, just as Josie drops her pencil and has to tumble off the bed to chase it across the floor.

She straightens from her awkward crouch, fully intending to crack a joke at her own expense, but stops when she sees the look on Penelope’s face.

“Um, is everything okay?”

There’s a very obvious lack of grilled cheese in Penelope’s possession, but Josie chooses not to comment. Somehow, it doesn’t seem like that’s what she should be paying attention to right now.

Penelope is silent for a moment longer, as if weighing her words. Then she gestures toward the bed, says, “I think we should sit down.”

Josie frowns, confusion giving way to worry as she turns to sit back down, watching as Penelope does the same. They’re back in their original positions, cross-legged and facing each other.

“Did something happen?”

“Not exactly,” Penelope says, shaking her head. “Something did happen, but it happened quite a while ago.”

In the time that they’ve been friends, Josie’s learned many things. Most prominent, or perhaps just most pressing at the moment, are the differences in how they communicate. Penelope tends to err on the side of caution, when it comes to speaking her mind, whilst Josie likes to let her words run away from her.

That is to say, her words run away from her, whether she wants them to or not.

In situations like these, where Penelope is searching for the right thing to say, Josie has to hold herself back from filling the silence with useless chatter. She’s never been very comfortable with gaps in conversation, always feeling like she has to patch them up somehow, as if the stilted awkwardness is her own fault.

Intentionally or not, Penelope’s taught her that sometimes, there are no expectations. No need for her to be someone, or say something.

Sometimes, all she needs to do is breathe.

And so she does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Offering my sincerest apologies that this isn't an indication of a new posting schedule, I wish I could do that right now, but life is a train without a conductor, and I am struggling as is to keep it on the tracks.
> 
> Rest assured, we're going to see this through, I promise not to just leave you hanging.
> 
> In the meantime, you can keep up with me on Twitter @scorpiowaltz should you wish to.


	16. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to start happening, just ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ with me for a little while more.

“I would like to remain honest with you,” Penelope says, slow and measured. “But sometimes, the truth can be difficult.”

Josie nods, because that is something she understands. So even though it’s nice, and honestly quite refreshing, that someone is looking out for her, Josie is aware that she doesn’t always need to know everything.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”

“I don’t like secrets,” Penelope says, shaking her head. “And you deserve to know.”

They’ve been friends for a while now, but always, Josie is surprised by how straightforward Penelope is. Nothing’s ever hidden with her. She plays with a foreign deck but an open hand. Learning to read her cards is the most difficult part, but it’s something Josie’s happy to do, even if she knows that this isn’t a game she can win.

Because love never stands still. It is a choice, one that renews itself, one that needs to be made over and over, each new morning of each new day.

There is no end to knowing someone, but Josie thinks that’s the best part. That she can spend her whole life with the same person, but always have more to learn about them.

Forever isn’t long at all when every day brings something new.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Josie suggests. “Or, maybe just telling me what this is about?”

“It’s about you,” Penelope says easily. “It’s about something that concerns you; something important.”

Later, when she reflects upon this conversation, Josie will want to kick herself in the head for jumping to conclusions, but right now the stage is set and all that’s left to do is leap.

“Oh,” she says. “I think I know.”

It’s not exactly as she’d envisioned, and Josie had thought she’d have more time to figure stuff out, but if Penelope’s ready to talk, then there really is no point in waiting.

They’ve kept quiet about it long enough, anyway.

“You do?” Penelope seems surprised, voice lilting upwards. “How?”

Josie shrugs. “I don’t know.” She’s barely any good at understanding her feelings, trying to explain them will not be met with much success. “I guess I’m just observant?”

“Observant?” Penelope frowns, which would’ve been enough to send Josie into a spiral of panic, had she not seemed more confused than anything else. “Forgive me if this is insensitive, but I’m … not sure how being observant helps.”

“Well, I mean, I pay a lot of attention to you?”

“To me?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Oh.” Penelope goes quiet for a moment. “But I didn’t find out until today.”

Which, though slightly out of character, because Penelope seems like someone who would be extremely self-aware, is not the worst thing she could be saying right now. Josie knows when to take the win.

“Yeah, it was kind of recent for me too.”

Though to be fair, Josie is extremely aware of the fact that she tends to be oblivious to her own feelings. Not because of any desire to ignore or suppress them, she’s just a bit blind to the workings of her own heart. Which can be a bit of an inconvenience, even if Lizzie thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world.

Penelope has returned to her ruminations, though this time they don’t last nearly as long. “Well,” she says, the tone of her voice much more serious than Josie would think this conversation warrants, “how do you feel about it?”

“How do I feel about it?”

“Yes, how do you feel?”

“… Good?” Josie almost reels backward at the way Penelope’s expression shifts, from kind concern to borderline horror. “I mean!” She scrambles, trying to come up with a better explanation. “I like you, too!”

Penelope looks at her for a moment, then says, slowly, “I think we’ve had a miscommunication.” Her gaze cuts downwards for a moment before she meets Josie’s eyes again. “I was talking about your mother.”

Josie, who had been panicking at Penelope’s first statement, frowns, confusion momentarily erasing all other emotion.

“My mother?”

“We know a few oracles,” Penelope says, evidently having decided that she should start at the beginning. “Well, Klaus knows a few oracles, and he asked them to keep an eye on the situation.” She makes a sweeping gesture, which Josie understands to mean the fact that both she and her sister are being hunted by an ancient, eldritch creature. “They just called, and it seems to be the consensus that this affliction isn’t old. In fact, it’s quite new.”

Josie’s head is swimming. “Oracles?” she asks, because it sounds like the safest thing to focus on right now.

“Do you remember what Hope and I told you about the woods?”

“The ley line intersection.” Josie nods. “It’s easiest to cross between worlds there, right?”

“Right," Penelope confirms. “Even then, it’s difficult to cross over. Usually, you’re only allowed through if you have a very strong purpose. And if you’re somewhere the ley lines don’t cross, you won’t be able to interact with the other world at all.”

“But it’s different for oracles?”

For a second, Penelope looks almost impressed, but the moment passes.

It still makes Josie smile.

“Not quite. They can’t cross between worlds any better than we can, but they have a sense for it. From what I’ve heard, it’s nothing entirely concrete, but they’re very good at acquiring information. If you’ve got questions that need answering, and don’t mind paying a high price, you can ask an oracle for help.”

“Right.” Josie is silent for a moment as she processes. “Wait, did you guys have to pay for this?”

Penelope lets out an involuntary laugh, as if she can’t believe this is what Josie’s zeroing in on.

“No, the oracles we know have all been friends with Klaus for ages, and keeping an eye on a situation isn’t as taxing as deliberately searching for answers.”

Josie exhales slowly. “Okay, that’s good,” she says. Then, “What were you saying about my mother?”

Penelope’s soft smile fades away. Josie has enough sense to mourn the loss of it, but only for a second. She’s got other things to concentrate on at the moment.

“They wouldn’t have called unless it was something they all agreed on, so we have every reason to believe this is true.” Penelope hesitates, an unusual colour on her. Josie isn’t sure that she likes it. “This affliction isn’t old,” she says, echoing herself. “You and Lizzie are the second set of twins to suffer from it.”

There are links here, for Josie to make, but she’s off-kilter, and the dots aren’t connecting in her head.

“So … so that means?”

“That means,” Penelope says, gentle as first snow, “your mother was the first.”

There are times where Josie feels like her mind is overflowing, too full of noise for her to discern proper thought. She knows what to do when that happens, knows how to bring herself back to a place where forming sentences isn’t a gargantuan task.

This is different. This isn’t a rush of static, or a sudden explosion of voices. This is nothing at all. Just empty space, an endless stretch of it.

And she has no idea what to do.

Penelope seems to realise that something’s wrong, because she moves forward, hands hovering between them, a silent question.

Josie answers it by turning her own hands around, so that her palms are facing up, and Penelope closes the distance between them, sliding warm fingers around Josie’s own.

She doesn’t say anything, as is often her way, but the moment their hands meet, Josie feels a familiar fishhook of energy. It’s not urgent, like it had been in the woods, there’s no anxiety surrounding the pull. But it’s there, a gentle suggestion of movement.

Josie leans into it.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she feels herself start to relax. And the tugging stops, but the comfort stays.

“We were really young,” Josie says. “And I don’t remember much of how I felt, back when it happened.” She takes a breath, her next words barely more than an exhale. “I miss her, though. Everyday.”

It’s strange, to grieve a loss like this. To know that the emptiness is there, to feel it, but not understand it. Phantom hurt, real but unreal, entirely inexplicable.

“I know,” Penelope says, as if she does. As if she understands completely, even though Josie could never explain it, could never even begin to try.

It is a wild, valuable thing, to look at someone and know that they are looking back.

“Will it always feel like this?”

Penelope glances to the side, and when she meets Josie’s eyes again, she's wearing an expression that Josie can’t quite read.

“I don’t think the grief ever really goes away,” she says, voice soft, full of something that Josie can't quite name. “But the hurt will change.” Penelope smiles, sad and hopeful all at once. “The hurt always changes.”

And, it’s not perfect, but, Josie thinks, if that’s the best she’s going to get, then it’s good enough.

Which just leaves the matter of their miscommunication. Or, rather, the matter of Josie running her mouth. Again.

“About what I said,” she starts, hoping that Penelope picks up the thread. “Earlier.”

Penelope, ever the best at reading cues, does exactly as Josie wishes.

“Oh, yes.” This time, her smile is nothing but joy. “You like me, too.”

“Yes, well-” Josie interrupts herself, takes a mental step back. Then several more, just for good measure. “I won’t pretend that I didn’t say it. But we don’t have to talk about it.”

They’re still holding hands. Penelope doesn’t make any move to let go as she asks, “Do you not want to talk about it?”

“I don’t mind?” Josie shrugs. “I mean, I guess I would like to. But it really doesn’t matter right now.”

“We can talk about it if you want.”

“Okay, well. How do you feel?”

Penelope seems surprised by the question.

“Alright, I suppose,” she says. “What about you?”

“Me?” Josie’s not sure if they’re talking about the same thing anymore, which she should probably address, all things considered. “Okay, wait.”

Penelope waits.

“I like you,” Josie says. “We’ve established that, right?”

“Right.”

“Is that … okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, sometimes people can get uncomfortable if their friends have feelings for them.”

“I see." Penelope thinks for a moment, then says, “I’m not uncomfortable.”

“You’re not?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh, good.”

Josie goes quiet, not sure what to say next.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Penelope asks.

“No?” Josie blinks, sure that she’s never been as uncertain as she is now, in any conversation she’s ever had with Penelope. “Why would I be uncomfortable?”

“Well,” Penelope says. “I like you, too.”

It takes a second for Josie to process those words, and once she does, it’s like her entire cognitive system gets kicked into overdrive.

“What?”

“I like you,” Penelope repeats, a little slower. Then, as Josie loses all the faculties that are required for her to create an appropriate reply, “Are you okay?”

“Um?”

Penelope leans closer, presumably out of concern, which does not do Josie any favours at all. The suddenness of it, however, does shake her out of her stupor.

“You like me?”

“I do." Penelope drifts back into her original position. Josie misses the closeness immediately. “I have for a while.”

“What? Why didn’t you say anything about it?”

“It just didn’t seem important.” Penelope shrugs, and Josie can’t help but notice how cute she looks when she’s unsure about something. “What with everything else, I thought I’d save it for a better time.”

Josie laughs, delight washing over her like a tidal wave.

“Now? The better time is now?”

Penelope smiles, quietly amused. “Well,” she says, “you brought it up first.”

She’s right, of course, and it had been immensely mortifying, but Josie doesn’t regret anything.

“I’m really glad you’re in my life, Pen.”

After everything, it’s nice to have this. The declaration of a simple truth. Pure and affirming.

“I’m really glad you’re in mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No upload schedule yet, but I'm nearing the homestretch in the writing process. I've decided that for every chapter I get done, I'll post one from my backlog. Once I've finished writing the whole thing, we'll go back to one chapter a week.
> 
> In the meantime, kudos & comments are very much appreciated, and will probably motivate me to get the chapters done quicker.
> 
> Thank you for all the time and energy you've invested in this story! I am findable at @scorpiowaltz on Twitter.


	17. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without the mortifying ordeal of being known, we can never experience the rewards of being loved.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

Josie looks up from her homework, which she’s actually been trying to stay ahead of, now that she knows how easy it is to fall behind when she has other things on her mind.

Pressing as they are, she doesn’t think her teachers are going to accept _‘i’m cursed and sometimes things try to kill me’_ as a valid reason for an extension.

Lizzie’s sitting at the other end of her bed, tapping at something on her phone, though she does look up after a moment, waiting for an answer.

“The same as it was last month I’d imagine.” Josie finishes the equation she’s working on, then slots her pencil behind her ear. “Except maybe we’ll all stay inside this time.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

It’s not snark, not entirely, but there’s still something in Lizzie’s voice that’s definitely meant to be teasing.

Josie just sighs. “You know I had to go,” she says. “You didn’t have to follow.”

“Yes, I did.” Lizzie doesn’t even hesitate, and when Josie looks up, she’s got her arms crossed in defiance. “I wasn’t about to let my sister walk into the woods alone, especially since there’s something in there that, you know, wants to viciously murder one of us.”

“Your solidarity is appreciated.”

“Good, as it should be.”

They’re joking about it, as they often do when something is too serious to talk about directly, but Josie knows that Lizzie would go down swinging for her, and she’s lucky to have someone like that.

“Okay, we’re getting picked up at seven, which means I have an hour to get my Chemistry homework done, so stop bothering me.”

“I wasn’t bothering you!”

“Why are you even in my room?”

“Because I finished my Chemistry homework yesterday.”

“Oh, in that case, can you help me with question nine?”

“Depends, are you going to keep being rude about it?”

Josie grabs at one of her pillows, then lobs it at her sister’s head. Lizzie dodges it easily, then picks it up and throws it back.

“Hey!”

“You started it!”

“Oh, my god. Can you just help me with question nine?”

“Fine, what is it?”

🐾

“Dad! They’re here!”

Josie’s hovering outside the closed door of her father’s office, watching as Lizzie breezes past her with their bags.

“Just a second, honey!”

“Let’s just go,” Lizzie whispers, appearing at Josie’s shoulder suddenly. “He won’t even notice we’re gone.”

“What? Wait, where’s our stuff?”

“Oh, Hope’s dad took it.”

Their own dad chooses this moment to exit his office, startling when he sees the both of them so close to the door.

“Alright, girls. Be safe, okay? Make good choices.”

“Yes, Dad,” they both chorus, stepping forward for a quick hug before disengaging.

Josie’s still not quite sure how to feel around her father. They haven’t spoken to him about the whole 'there’s a monster that wants to kill us and you knew and didn’t tell us' thing, and she doesn’t really know how to act around him anymore.

“See you tomorrow,” she says, because Lizzie’s already gone, and between the two of them, Josie’s the one who’s less likely to be throwing a tantrum.

Their dad just smiles tiredly, bending to drop a kiss to the top of her head before disappearing back into his office. The door shuts with a quiet snap, and Josie spends a moment just staring at the polished wood, wondering if she’ll ever really understand her own father.

“Josie! Come on! Let’s go!”

“Coming!”

🐾

“Go on, the girls are floating around in there somewhere. I’ve got your bags, you’ll be in the same room as last time.”

Klaus ushers them toward the house, stepping to block Josie’s way when she makes an attempt to grab her own bag.

“Okay, fine,” she says, smiling at Klaus’ amused expression. “Thank you so much.”

“Thank you,” Lizzie echoes, before hooking an arm through Josie’s and tugging them both toward the door.

Hope opens it before they can either (in Lizzie’s case) try the handle, or (in Josie’s case) knock.

“What’s up!” she says, grinning at the both of them. “How we doing?”

Josie opens her mouth, ready to say that she’s doing fine, but Lizzie interrupts with, “Well, I’m not dead yet, so,” before stepping into the house, grabbing Hope’s hand, and dragging her away.

This all happens within the span of a few seconds, so Josie’s left just standing on the porch alone, wondering if Hope’s going to be okay.

She’s shaken out of her thoughts by a familiar voice, and warm fingers curving around her wrist, tugging gently so that she’ll step through the door.

“Hello,” Penelope says, and Josie immediately feels tension drain from her shoulders. “How are you?”

“Good.” Josie reaches over to take Penelope’s hand, because she wants to, and because she can, letting the other girl lead them over to the living room. “Better now.”

Hope looks up as they walk in, curled into one of the armchairs, Lizzie squashed next to her. She holds out a big blue bowl when she spots them.

“Hey guys! Want some popcorn?”

“Sure, thanks.”

Josie leans over to grab at the rim of the bowl, then settles next to Penelope. They end up nestled together on the one cushion, even though the couch could probably comfortably seat three people.

Penelope always runs warm, which is great because Josie does not. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere, about fitting together, and filling the empty spaces, but Josie’s too tired to think of one, so she just snuggles closer and puts a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“Okay, now that we’re all here.” Hope stretches so far off the chair she’s in that Josie worries she’s going to fall out. From the looks of it, Lizzie’s thinking the exact same thing, if the arm she wraps around Hope’s waist is of any indication. “Who wants to watch a movie?”

🐾

They make it halfway through the most boring movie Josie’s ever seen in her entire life before Hope slams to her feet. Lizzie lets out a surprised yelp, then frowns, as if she wants to say something cutting, but can’t because it’s Hope.

“What happened?” Josie asks, anxiety immediately spiking. “What’s wrong?”

Next to her, Penelope has gone very still, eyes closed and head tilted at an angle, as if she’s listening for something.

Then she stands too, shooting Josie an apologetic glance as she goes.

“Do you feel that?” Penelope stretches a hand out, fingers combing through the air for something that Josie can’t see.

Hope kicks a leg out, clearly annoyed. “I have a headache,” she grumbles. “What’s going on?”

Penelope closes her eyes again, takes a steadying breath. She pushes at the air in front of her with an open palm, as if trying to catch something. It’s a tense few moments, and then her fist closes, and she opens her eyes.

Whatever it is that she’s holding, it’s invisible to Josie, but when Penelope gives a sharp tug, the ripple of energy that expands through the room is palpable, even to her.

“Ow!” Hope’s got her head in her hands, wincing as she tries to stay upright. At her exclamation, Lizzie stands too, hands hovering in front of her, like she wants to help but doesn’t know how. “What was that for?”

“Sorry.” Penelope lets go, hand falling back to her side. “The link,” she says. “It’s still open.”

Hope starts to say something, then stops. The headache is obviously still bothering her, but it seems as if she’s caught on to what Penelope has figured out.

“It can't stay open," she says. “We have to go.”

Penelope nods. “I know.” She turns to Josie, and the expression in her eyes is almost pleading, as close to it as Josie thinks she’ll ever get from Penelope. “If we ask you to stay, will you?”

“Stay? Why? Where are you going?” Josie’s heart catches up before her mind does, and she starts panicking before she even really knows why. “No.” She stands, grabbing Penelope’s hands. “No, you can’t go in there.”

“We have to.” Hope’s already walking, rubbing at her head as she goes. “And you’re going to stay here.” She turns to Lizzie, interrupting before the other girl can voice her protests. “Both of you. My parents will make sure you’re safe.”

Josie decides to let her sister handle that one, knowing that Lizzie has a lot to say about being left out of situations that affect her life. She turns to Penelope, who’s still looking at her, hands lax in Josie’s own.

“It won’t let me stay,” she says, not bothering to elaborate. “You know it won’t.”

“Yes, it will.” Penelope slides out of Josie’s grasp, then takes two steps back. “It will, because I don’t want you to follow.”

Josie’s ready to make her defiance known, but Penelope takes another step back, and there’s nothing. No fishhook of energy, no tugging, nothing that’s pulling her in Penelope’s direction.

“No.” The word is pushed out of her, involuntary. “No, what happened?”

“I’m sorry, Josie.” Penelope stays where she is, four feet away and the furthest she’s ever been at the same time. “I don’t want you to follow.”

Across the room, Lizzie doesn’t seem like she’s having much luck either, judging from the way Hope is shaking her head.

“Just stay here, okay? You’ll be safe if you stay in the house.”

Lizzie looks furious. “I thought we were safe with you!”

“You are,” Hope explains, endlessly patient. “And we need to keep making sure of that, which is why you need to stay here. The house is protected, and my parents know what to do if anything tries to attack.”

It’s at this moment that Klaus and Hayley appear, followed closely by Penelope, who lingers in the doorway, gaze fixed on some invisible thing that’s clearly annoying her.

Josie hadn’t even noticed that she’d left the room, when before she could’ve found Penelope in any crowd, and it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, the loss of that connection.

“It won’t take long,” Hope is saying. “Probably.”

“We promise to keep each other safe,” Penelope adds, and it feels like a mantra, something they say before every venture into the woods.

Klaus nods, then pulls the both of them into a quick hug, squeezing tightly for just a moment before releasing them to Hayley’s fussing.

“I know it’s not ideal,” he says, and it takes Josie a second to realise that she’s being spoken to, “but this is the safest option.”

Lizzie steps forward, clearly ready for an argument, but Klaus keeps talking before she can interrupt.

“They’re smart,” he continues, “and stronger than they look. They’ll be fine as long as they stay together, and you know they will.”

He’s right, and Josie kind of hates him for it, as irrational as that is. Because if Klaus is right, that means there’s nothing she can do. Nothing except sit, and wait, and hope that Penelope makes it home, no worse for wear.

Helplessness is an ugly feeling, and Josie doesn’t like the way it twists at her insides, seething into a guilt that she shouldn’t own.

From across the room, Penelope meets her eyes.

_It’s okay_, she says, without saying anything at all. _I’ll be okay._

Josie doesn’t speak either, but she knows that Penelope hears her. Loud and clear.

_Stay safe._

_Come home._

🐾

Josie watches as her sister paces the length of the room, muttering darkly under her breath the entire time.

Klaus and Hayley have moved into the kitchen, presumably to give them a little privacy, should they decide to have some sort of serious conversation.

Judging by the way Lizzie has completely tunnel-visioned, Josie doesn’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.

She’s curled into the corner of the couch, staring blankly at the TV. It's still on, now playing some mindless children’s show.

Time passes slowly, or not at all, and Josie’s just about to get up and find some chore to occupy herself with when she feels something settle over her. It’s a familiar sensation, and sure enough, not half a second later, something curves into the back of her spine and gives a single, gentle tug.

Josie’s moving before she’s even aware of it, blowing through the kitchen and out the backdoor, feet bare in the grass as she stutters to a halt in the middle of the yard.

The night is quiet, and the air is still, but something is crackling between her fingers, a danger that hasn’t arrived yet.

“What happened?” Lizzie’s there, followed by Klaus and Hayley, and they all huddle together on the lawn. “Are they okay?”

“I don’t know.” Josie hates this feeling, all momentum with nowhere to go. “I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up in the kitchen?
> 
> As always, kudos are greatly appreciated & comments are a huge part of keeping me motivated.
> 
> I can be found at [@scorpiowaltz](http://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter should you have anything you'd like to say, communication is welcome!


	18. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, let's get this show on the road.

Josie stands still, eyes closed, tries to focus on the way the world seems to bend around her, like it’s trying to tell her something.

The energy is back, that subtle pull that Josie associates with Penelope being near, but it’s different. There’s no path to follow, no trail of breadcrumbs that lead to where Penelope is, just the knowledge that she’s there, leaning into the connection just as much as Josie is.

“Hey.” Klaus comes around to stand in front of her, crouching so that Josie doesn’t have to look up to meet his eyes. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Josie shakes her head, then nods. Then she huffs, annoyed at herself for being so unsure. “I’m fine,” she says, voice steady. “I just … felt something.”

“Could you try describing it?”

“Um, well. Sometimes, I can tell where Penelope is, if she’s letting me.” Josie’s a little frazzled, and none of her words are coming out right, but Klaus is looking at her with kind eyes, and she wants to try. “Which is why I knew where she was, that last time. And she turned it off tonight, but it’s back now. Sort of.”

Klaus waits for her to elaborate, and when she doesn’t, prompts her with a gentle, “Sort of?”

“Yeah, uh, it’s different? I still can’t tell where she is, just that she’s there.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? That means they’re safe.”

“I guess.” Josie looks around, distracted by a feeling she can’t name. “There’s just … something. Like she’s asking me to be careful, or get ready, or …" She trails off, staring out across the meadow, toward the woods. “I think they’re coming back.”

“What?” Lizzie crosses the yard, leaning up against the fence as she squints through the darkness. “I don’t see anything.”

Without even really thinking about it, Josie reaches out, wanting to pull her sister away. Her fingers are still tingling, and she barely manages to move before something makes her snatch her hand back.

“Liz!”

Lizzie turns around, eyes wide.

“What? Are you okay?”

Fighting against her screaming instincts, Josie takes several steps forward, grabs hold of her sister’s sleeve, and yanks, so that they’re both stumbling back toward the house.

Before anyone can say anything, the sound of branches snapping echoes through the night. Then, as Josie watches, two dark shapes appear at the edge of the woods, drawing closer at an alarming speed.

“Girls.” Klaus gathers them both up, ushering them toward the house. “Maybe you should go inside.”

Josie knows that she should be panicking right now, that she should probably be afraid of whatever it is that’s hurtling toward them, but all she’s feeling is this odd sense of calm. She ducks under Klaus’ arm, moving almost mechanically as the two figures near the fence that separates the house from the meadow.

“Pen,” she says, with absolute certainty, just as the panther takes a running leap, clearing the fence, and half the yard, in one jump.

Penelope skids to a trembling halt next to Josie, clearly exhausted from the sprint she’s just taken through the woods. A wolf follows closely behind, tries to do the same, but is stopped by what seems to be an invisible wall and sent crashing to the ground.

“Hope?” Lizzie tries to step closer, but is stopped when Penelope moves to block her path. “Hey, what gives? Why can’t she get in?”

A snarl erupts from outside the fence, and when Josie turns to look, Hope is back on her feet. She rears up, clawing at the barrier that seems to be keeping her out. When it doesn’t give, she lets out an annoyed growl, staring angrily at the group of them, huddled there on the lawn.

Hope’s eyes are blue, Josie knows because Lizzie talks about them all the time. When she’s a wolf, they tint with gold, just like Penelope’s do when she’s a panther.

Right now, Hope’s eyes aren’t blue. Right now, they’re a bright, angry red.

“The house is protected.” Penelope sounds tired, but she’s a girl again, and Josie moves without thinking, slips across the grass and scoops her into a hug. She doesn’t resist, just keeps talking. “Anything with intention to harm can’t get through.”

Lizzie doesn’t seem satisfied with that explanation.

“That’s Hope,” she says, matter-of-fact. “Why would she have intention to harm?”

Penelope just shakes her head, as if to say she’ll explain later. Then she slides out of Josie’s arms, flashing her an apologetic smile as she goes.

Josie feels the energy in her spine give a sharp tug, and she lurches forward so violently that Lizzie has to wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from falling over.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“I promised to keep her safe,” Penelope says, quiet. Then she walks across the yard, and hops the fence.

Josie’s heart jumps into her throat.

The moment Penelope’s feet hit the soft earth, she’s tackled over by Hope, who snarls menacingly into her face.

“No!” Josie tries to run forward, is stopped by the hold Lizzie has around her waist. “Let me go!”

Lizzie pulls her back, spins her around, then grabs hold of her shoulders and shakes her a little. “Are you insane?”

“But-”

“Penelope knows what she’s doing. And if either of us go out there, we’ll get ripped apart.”

“I don’t-”

“She’d want you to stay here.” Lizzie shakes her again, lighter this time, but no less firm. “You know that.”

Josie lets out a frustrated huff, then stops fighting.

“Fine.”

Lizzie releases her shoulders, but reaches down to take her hand. Josie lets her, figuring that they both need the anchor right now.

On the other side of the fence, Penelope is still pinned to the ground, but she doesn’t seem to be struggling, or making any attempts to free herself. In fact, she looks completely relaxed, hands resting open-palmed next to her head, as if in surrender.

Josie’s still worried, so she takes a couple steps forward. Lizzie comes with her, peering tentatively through the gaps in the fence.

Penelope’s talking, too low and quick for Josie to understand, but Hope is clearly listening, even as she hangs, open-jawed, inches above Penelope’s throat.

The night warps around them, time bending in on itself, and Penelope just keeps talking. Hope seems to be going through some sort of transition, sometimes growling in Penelope’s face, sometimes giving her head a shake, as if trying to rid herself of something.

Josie can feel her heart slamming against her ribs, and she knows she’s holding Lizzie’s hand too tight, but her sister doesn’t say anything, just stands next to her as they wait.

Then, all of a sudden, Hope’s a girl again, next to Penelope in the grass.

Lizzie makes an odd noise, then clambers over the fence, stumbling over to Hope and collapsing to the ground next to her.

Josie looks down at her hands, wriggles her fingers back and forth. The crackling is gone, as if it’d never been there at all.

When she looks back up, Penelope is there, smiling tiredly up at her, green eyes bright despite how exhausted she looks.

For what must be the seventeenth time that night, Josie feels close to tears. She pulls Penelope into a hug, buries her face in the other girl’s shoulder.

“What were you doing?” she asks, voice muffled by the fabric of Penelope’s hoodie. It’s all dirty and tattered, the result of Penelope being pinned to the ground by a large wolf, but Josie doesn’t care.

Penelope combs careful fingers through Josie’s hair. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“Not until you take a shower.” Lizzie steps up to join them, Hope tucked under her arm. “Both of you.”

“Now that,” Klaus says, as he starts to shepherd the lot of them toward the back door, “is the best idea I’ve heard all night. Come on, now. Into the house.”

🐾

“You can put it on.”

Josie startles, jumping a little. She looks up to find Penelope entering the room, fresh out of the shower with a towel around her neck.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to look through your stuff.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” Penelope moves across the room, shifting a beanbag out of the way as she goes, before taking a seat on her bed, next to Josie. “You can put it on, if you’re cold.”

Josie’s not that cold, but she pulls Penelope’s hoodie on anyway, letting the hood stay over her head.

“Thanks," she says, quiet. Then, “Are you okay?”

Penelope nods. “I’m fine.” She reaches over, takes Josie’s hand, a gesture of reassurance that could’ve been for either of them. “But I do owe you an explanation.”

Josie doesn’t say anything, just stays quiet and waits, knows by now that Penelope always picks her words carefully.

“Do you remember why the creature only attacks on the night of the new moon?”

“Because … that’s when it’s easiest to pass between worlds?”

“Right.” Penelope pulls Josie’s hands into her lap, doesn’t seem to realize she’s done it. Josie just lets it happen, long past the point of having any issues with Penelope being close to her. Quite the opposite, really. “Usually, it just comes through and starts looking for you and Lizzie, and the link closes.”

Josie remembers the mention of a link, earlier that evening. Penelope had said something about how it couldn’t remain open.

“Hope and I are part of this world, but we can sense the other one. So when the link didn’t close tonight, we could tell something was wrong.”

“Is that why Hope had that headache?”

“She feels it more than I do, we think it’s because she’s older.” Penelope lifts the hand that isn’t holding Josie’s, moving it back and forth through the air in front of her. “I’m better at finding the fraying, though. That’s what I was pulling on, earlier.”

Josie leans her head on Penelope’s shoulder, listens to her soft, steady breaths.

“It was the creature, keeping the link open. We fought, and pushed it back through to the other side, but Hope got injured. I think it bit her, I’m not sure, but when I turned around, she jumped on me.”

“Her eyes were red,” Josie says, absent-mindedly, more as an observation of her own memory than anything else.

“She wasn’t herself.” Penelope’s words are strained, and she waits a moment before continuing. “I managed to push her off, and then I ran back here.”

“You came back.”

“Hm?”

Josie raises their joined hands, then rests them back on Penelope’s lap. “To me,” she explains. “You came back to me.”

“Well, I didn’t want to lead an angry wolf back to the house without warning someone first.”

“You’re just lucky I could understand you.”

“I wasn’t worried.” Penelope rests her head on top of Josie’s. “You’re better at understanding me than most people are.”

They descend into a comfortable silence, and Josie almost drifts off to sleep, tucked all warm and comfortable into Penelope’s side, but then she remembers a question she’d had.

“Hey, Pen.”

“Yes?”

“What were you saying to Hope? Earlier, in the grass.”

A pause, then, “I was reminding her of what she gave to protect this house, and that she wouldn't want to hurt the people in it.”

Josie considers that for a moment, then says, “Hope’s really strong.”

“I know.”

“You’re really strong, too.”

Penelope laughs, quiet but not disbelieving. “Thank you.” She runs her thumb across the back of Josie’s hand. “Strength is just love, I think. We give it different names, but they’re all the same, in the end.”

Josie doesn’t quite know what to say to that, so she doesn't say anything at all, just closes her eyes and leaves Penelope to her thoughts.

After a while, the other girl nudges gently at her.

“Josie.”

“Hm, yeah?”

“I should go talk to Hope.”

Josie opens her eyes, swallows a yawn as she sits back up.

Penelope smiles at her, clearly amused. “You can stay here, if you want. I know Klaus set up the guest room for you, but I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay.” Josie yawns again, lets Penelope tuck her in. “Goodnight, Pen.”

A kiss to the top of her head, then a voice, pillow-soft and full of warmth.

“Goodnight, Josie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this story is now fully written. Could've happened quicker, I know, but it is what it is. From now on, there'll be new chapters every Friday morning my time, just like when we first started. If you've been following from the very first chapter, thank you so much for your patience and understanding!
> 
> You may find me [@scorpiowaltz](http://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter if you've got any questions, inquiries, feedback, or concerns.
> 
> Other than that, kudos & comments are very much appreciated.
> 
> See you next week!


	19. PENELOPE

The door is ajar, but Penelope can hear voices coming from behind it, so she knocks, just to be polite.

A shuffling, then Hope is blinking up at her, blue eyes rimmed with red.

The air between them shimmers with something unknowable, Penelope reaches right through it to pull her best friend into a hug.

Lizzie appears then, from somewhere behind Hope, but only stays long enough to bid them both goodnight before disappearing down the stairs.

Hope just makes a sniffling noise, doesn’t otherwise respond.

Without pulling back from the hug, Penelope starts to walk forward, moving them both into the room, reaching an arm out to shut the door.

“You smell like your dad,” she says, once it becomes clear that Hope isn’t going to break the silence. It’s not often that Penelope speaks first, but she supposes certain situations do call for it.

Hope lets out a watery laugh, pulling back from the hug, but only just. “I used his shampoo.” She drags Penelope toward the bed, twisting and tugging so that they both collapse onto the mattress. “You smell like Josie.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, but you always do, when she comes by.” Hope flops onto her back, gaze trained on the ceiling. “Was she mad?”

Penelope lies down too, resting her arms on her stomach.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh.”

“She was worried, though.”

“That makes sense.” Hope rolls onto her side, but doesn’t reach across the space between them like she usually would. “I’m really-”

“If you’re going to apologise, I don’t want it.”

“Pen-”

“I don’t want it.” Penelope doesn’t turn to meet Hope’s eyes, as much as she can feel her best friend staring at the side of her head. “You know that I don’t.”

Besides, it’s not like Penelope needs Hope to put her feelings into words. Penelope’s never needed that, but right now she needs it even less than usual.

Hope doesn’t have to say that she’s sorry, doesn’t have to give voice to her apologies. She’s coated in them, regret spilling off of her shoulders like a waterfall, misting the air with the bitter-sour tang of guilt.

So instead, she says, “Thank you.”

Penelope considers those words, turns them around in her mind as she thinks about who Hope is, how she’s feeling and what she needs in this moment. Then she turns to meet her best friend’s eyes, asks, “What for?"

“If you loved me any less, I don’t think I would’ve come back.”

Hope’s voice breaks on the second half of her sentence, and she sucks in a breath, eyes closing for a second before she looks at Penelope again, gaze watery.

“You don’t have to thank me for loving you.”

“I know, but-”

“You don’t,” Penelope repeats, because she needs Hope to hear it. “Also, I don’t think it was me.”

“I just- what?” Hope cuts herself off mid-argument. “What do you mean?”

Penelope takes a moment to find her words. “I do love you,” she says. “You know that. But I don’t think that’s what brought you back. It wasn’t my love, it was your own.”

Hope still looks confused, so Penelope keeps going.

“It wasn’t you back there. I know you, Hope, and that wasn’t you. Which means whoever it was that attacked me, they didn’t know how much I love you. And if that’s the case, then it didn’t matter.”

“But … I was thinking about you.” Hope looks like she’s trying really hard to make sense of things. “When I came back, it was like waking up. Like, when you’re super tired, and already half-dreaming, and you have to pull yourself out of it. I remember feeling really scared, like I knew you were in trouble. I just wanted to keep you safe.”

“Because you love me.”

“Because I love you,” Hope confirms, without hesitation. Then, after a short pause, “Oh, I think I get it.”

Penelope smiles, sleep-gentle. “You brought yourself back,” she says. “For me, and your parents. Lizzie and Josie, too.”

“I brought myself back,” Hope echoes, voice full of wonder.

“You sure did.”

They lie there in silence for a while, until Hope sits up and smacks the light switch, plunging them into sudden darkness.

“We’re going to sleep now,” she says, pulling the covers up and immediately hogging more than half of them.

Penelope just lets her, knowing that she’ll kick them off halfway through the night anyway.

“Okay. Goodnight, puppy.”

“’Night,” Hope mumbles, already dozing off. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

🐾

Penelope wakes to a stifling heat, and it takes a few seconds for her to realise that Hope is essentially lying on top of her, arms and legs flung out starfish-style.

She’s snuffling, but her breaths are deep and even; no signs of any nightmares.

It’s early still, Hope’s window revealing nothing but light grey skies, the barest hint of clouds.

The house is quiet, and Penelope tries her best to be gentle when she wriggles out from under Hope, pulling into a stretch once she’s got both feet on the ground.

Hope stays asleep, shows no signs of even being aware of what’s just occurred.

Penelope draws the blankets up over her, as well as she can, with Hope taking up the entire bed like she is, then lets herself out, the door shutting behind her with a quiet click.

On her way down to the kitchen, she stops by her own room, just to check.

Josie’s still asleep too, right where Penelope had tucked her in, safe and sound.

No nightmares for her either, then.

Penelope pulls the door shut again, pads carefully down to the kitchen, mindful of the creaky stair.

Someone’s already there, she can hear the rustle of drawers being open and shut, but Penelope doesn’t sense any danger, so she doesn’t hesitate before rounding the corner.

Lizzie looks up when she enters, smiling sheepishly when she spots Penelope.

“Sorry, was I being too loud? I don’t know where your mugs are.”

“Above you, left cabinet.”

“Thanks.”

As Lizzie turns to find herself a mug, Penelope crosses the room to take a seat at the island.

“And you’re fine, by the way. Not too loud, I just happened to be awake.”

“Oh, okay. Cool. Just wanted to make sure.”

Silence blooms between them as Lizzie busies herself with making a cup of coffee, broken only by the clink of silverware against glass.

“Would you like one?”

"No, thank you. I’m okay.”

Lizzie nods, leans against the counter and takes a sip, warms her hands against her mug. She doesn’t move to sit down, just stays opposite Penelope on the other side of the island.

“Thank you,” she says, after a prolonged moment.

Penelope shakes her head. “I didn’t do anything; Hope brought herself back.”

“No, I meant- well, yes. That too, of course. But I meant, thank you for keeping us safe, Josie and I.”

“Oh.” Penelope shakes her head again. “You don’t have to-”

“I know.” Lizzie looks sorry for interrupting, but when Penelope doesn’t call her out on it, she keeps steamrollering on. “I know I don’t have to. It just feels like something I need to say.”

And, if nothing else, that’s something Penelope understands.

“Okay,” she says. Then, “Thank you for taking care of Josie.”

The _'when I couldn't'_ goes unsaid, but they both hear it.

“You were there, too.” Lizzie rests her cup on the counter-top, glancing down into it for a second before looking back up. “You’re always there, in a way. I don’t think Josie’s fully realised it yet, but she definitely feels it.”

It’s not particularly pronounced right now, but Penelope knows that if she closes her eyes and concentrates, she’ll be able to feel the pull. That familiar energy, always stitching her back together, lulling her in Josie’s direction.

“Has she spoken to you about it?”

“Not really, but she’s always been like that, keeping things to herself. She’ll talk to me when she wants to.” Lizzie takes another sip of her coffee. “Though, actually, she did mention something last night, about how she can tell where you are sometimes.”

Before Penelope can respond, two sets of footsteps patter outside the kitchen, and she turns just in time to see both Hope and Josie try to enter the room together, blearily bumping into each other as they clash in the doorway.

Josie’s still wearing Penelope’s hoodie, and now that she’s standing, it’s obvious that it’s a little short on her.

Penelope turns back to Lizzie, who’s sporting an amused grin, fondness and exasperation written in equal measure across her face.

“Should we help them?”

Lizzie shrugs, takes another sip of her coffee. “I think they’ll be fine.”

“Who’s fine?” Hope’s still half-asleep, scrambling clumsily up into the seat on Penelope’s right, slumping onto the table the moment she makes it.

Josie appears on Penelope’s other side, sliding more gracefully onto the seat. She’s more awake than Hope is, enough to lean across the counter and swipe Lizzie’s coffee, grinning at her sister over the rim of the mug.

“Did you sleep well?” Penelope pokes a gentle finger into the space beneath Hope’s ribs, so that the other girl knows that she’s being spoken to.

Hope lifts her head, blinking sleepily. “Hm? Oh, yeah. Real good.” She leans over, resting her entire upper body against Penelope’s side. “No nightmares or anything.”

Penelope shifts a little, to better accommodate Hope. “Good,” she says. “I’m glad.”

“Huh.” Josie sounds contemplative, both elbows on the table as she rests her chin in her palms. “I didn’t have any nightmares, either. Maybe I was just too tired.”

“Do you usually get nightmares?” Penelope asks, voice low with concern. “You’ve never mentioned them.”

“Well, it hasn’t been happening recently. Not since …” Josie trails off, sitting up and turning to look at Penelope. “Not since you and Hope moved here.”

Penelope meets her gaze, trying to gauge if Josie’s figured it out yet. It’s important, she thinks, not to rush into things. Not to rush someone else into them.

Josie leans closer, searching Penelope’s eyes. “Oh,” she says, quiet. “I almost forgot.” Her next words are delivered with a smile, soft and warm. “I dreamt about you.”

“I remember that.” Lizzie looks between them, then settles on her sister. “You told me you didn’t know who it was!”

“I didn’t! We barely even knew them at that point!”

“Wait.” Hope pushes against Penelope’s hip, sitting upright and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “You were dreaming about Pen before you even met. And I totally forgot to ask about it, but that night, you knew where to find us.”

“Also,” Lizzie cuts in, “that thing you said about knowing where Penelope is, if she lets you.”

“If she lets you?” Hope asks, suddenly delighted.

Josie angles herself away from the table, gaze darting between Lizzie and Hope. “Um, am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?”

Hope looks like she’s barely containing her excitement. “No! Everything’s fine!” She turns to Penelope, eyes wide. “Can we tell her?”

“Tell me what?” Josie reaches out to swing Penelope’s chair around, ignoring Hope’s yelp of protest. “What’s going on, Pen?”

Penelope just shrugs, allowing herself a half-smile and nothing else. “Think,” she says. “You already know.”

Josie frowns, obviously confused, but she acquiesces, letting go of Penelope’s chair and settling back into her own.

Lizzie and Hope are both watching her, looking far more interested than the topic should warrant, considering that it doesn’t concern them in the slightest. Penelope chooses to watch the sunrise through the kitchen window, wanting to give Josie at least a semblance of privacy while she works things out.

Silence hovers loosely around them.

"You know," Josie says, after a prolonged moment, "I think I just need you to tell me."

Penelope lets out a quiet laugh.

"Are you sure? It's not something I can take back."

"When have you ever taken anything back?" Josie asks, eyes bright with amusement.

"Touché."

"So, what is it?"

"Well." Penelope turns so that she's fully facing Josie. "It seems that we're heartbound."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, we're really in it now. Also, my entire nutrition plan is kudos & comments.
> 
> [@scorpiowaltz](https://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter if you want to chat!


	20. JOSIE

“Heartbound.” Josie echoes the word, testing it out. “We’re heartbound.”

“It’s still just a hunch,” Penelope continues. “Though it does seem the most likely explanation.”

Josie can’t say that she’s surprised, not really. If anything, it’s comforting, to finally be able to put a name to all these feelings she’s been having.

“We should test it!” Hope stands, balancing on the little footrest at the bottom of her seat. “Pen, let’s test it!”

Penelope reaches to pull her back down. “How about some breakfast first?” She gives Hope’s chair a spin. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Hope pauses, and Josie can almost pinpoint the exact moment in which her train of thought switches tracks.

“Okay, breakfast first!” she says, hopping out of her seat. “I’ll go wake Dad.”

They all watch as Hope marches determinedly out of the kitchen, disappearing up the stairs.

“What’s she talking about?” Lizzie seems adamant on getting answers, Josie just reaches over to steal her coffee again. “How do we test this?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Penelope says, “but I think it’s going to involve a very elaborate game of hide-and-seek.”

🐾

Josie’s still chewing on her last bite of toast when Hope pushes her out the door, with strict instructions to stay on the porch.

“What’s going on?” she asks, slightly alarmed, though not too much, because Lizzie has also been evicted.

“We’re playing hide-and-seek,” Hope explains, as if she’d given them prior warning. “I’ll go hide Penelope, and you have to find her. Don’t come in until I tell you to.”

“Wait-” Lizzie doesn’t manage to get a full sentence out before the door gets shut in both their faces.

Deciding that compliance is the path of least resistance, Josie just shrugs, turning around and taking a seat on the steps. It’s not like she’s got anything better to do.

“You know,” Lizzie says, after a while, “I was right.”

Josie’s used to her sister’s ‘I told you so’ moments, and so addresses this one like she would any other.

“About what?”

“Remember when I said you were half in love with her already?”

In a surprising turn of events, Josie does remember that conversation, over an empty pizza box at their kitchen table. She does not, however, remember what she’d said in reply. Though that matters less than the fact that Lizzie had, in fact, probably been right.

Still, it’s been a strange couple months. Josie doesn’t want to rush into labelling any of the feelings she’s been having, especially since she still isn’t quite sure where she stands with Penelope.

Are they dating? It seems likely, after the talk they’d had, but as always, Josie’s been too afraid to ask, and it’s gone unsaid for long enough now that bringing it up would be awkward at best.

Love has always been such a vague, indistinct concept, not something that Josie could easily grasp on to. She thinks Penelope would have a better understanding of it, but that’s not a can of worms she’s ready to open yet.

In any case, despite the uncertainty surrounding their relationship, Josie still feels safest when she’s with Penelope, and that has to count for something.

Somehow, it just feels like they have all the time in the world to figure themselves out.

“Maybe I am.” Josie shrugs. “Maybe I’m not. All I know is that I really enjoy her company, and she makes me feel like that’s enough.”

The door swings back open before Lizzie can say anything in reply, and Hope hauls Josie to her feet, ushering both of them back into the house.

“Okay,” she says, turning to Josie with a grin. “You’re up.”

The thing is, and this is something that’s been brewing in the back of her mind, Josie doesn’t really know how the heartbond works. That’s kind of a terrifying thought, so she pushes it away, instead concentrating on what she does know.

If she reaches out, Penelope will almost certainly meet her halfway.

Josie takes a breath, tells herself to relax.

_Where are you?_

It feels a little silly, just projecting her thoughts into the air in front of her, but sure enough, Josie starts to feel that familiar tug, that fishhook of energy, pulling her gently down the hall.

She goes where it guides her, walking in and out of rooms, circling around furniture. It seems like Penelope’s making fun of her, but Josie knows the other girl would never, so she doesn’t say anything.

Behind her, Hope and Lizzie are doing a terrible job of keeping quiet. Josie ignores their frantic whispers, which die down when she comes to a stop in the kitchen.

“Well?” If at all possible, Lizzie sounds just a little anxious. “Where is she?”

Josie’s standing in front of a shelf, and it looks like she’s got nowhere left to go, but the tugging hasn’t stopped. In fact, it’s gotten just a little more insistent, as if Penelope wants her to keep walking forward.

For a moment, she just stands there, confused. Then-

_Pull._

It’s less of a command and more of an instinct that Josie suddenly possesses. She reaches out hesitantly, hooks her fingers around the side of the shelf, and pulls.

It gives, sliding sideways to reveal a doorway.

Josie steps through, belatedly realising that she’s found a hidden pantry. It’s dark, and she almost misses the stack of boxes in front of her, but something makes her move out of the way at the last second.

Looking down, she sees the flash of green eyes, and can’t help the smile that stretches across her face.

There, sitting cross-legged on the ground and leaning against the wall, is Penelope.

“Hello,” Josie says. “I’ve found you.”

Penelope accepts the hand she’s offered, lets Josie pull her to her feet. “Yes.” There’s a certain lilt to her voice, something that sounds a lot like pride. “You certainly have.”

🐾

Hope insists on making herself a bowl of cereal, even though they’d all had breakfast less than an hour ago. They’re seated at the kitchen table, Hope shovelling spoonfuls of Froot Loops into her mouth as Penelope eyes her warily, presumably keeping an eye out to make sure she doesn’t choke.

“So.” Lizzie is very pointedly not looking at Hope. “Did it work? Do they pass?”

It seems extremely likely that Hope’s about to start responding immediately, but Penelope puts a stop to it by plastering a hand to her face.

“Not with your mouth full.”

Hope rolls her eyes, which Josie can see because of the gaps between Penelope’s fingers, but complies, opening her mouth wide when she’s done chewing to show that it’s empty.

Lizzie makes a face, and Josie laughs.

“Anyway.” Hope lets her spoon clink into her bowl. “Josie, did you know we had a hidden pantry in the kitchen?”

Josie shakes her head. “No,” she says, completely honest, because she hadn’t. “I don’t even know why I had to walk through the entire house first.”

“Oh, I thought that was what Hope wanted.” Penelope sounds just the tiniest bit confused, Josie tries her best not to think about how cute that is. “Wasn’t it?”

Hope pauses, spoon halfway to her mouth. “Not really,” she says. “I was just trying to find a hiding spot. But that’s just more proof, so it all worked out.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Lizzie sounds irritated, but Josie knows that’s just the tone of voice she uses whenever she doesn’t understand the situation. “What does any of this mean?”

“I thought Hope wanted Josie to follow the exact path we took.” Penelope takes over the explanation. A wise choice, seeing as Hope has become fully devoted to her cereal. “So that’s where I led her.”

Lizzie seems to consider that for a moment, then asks, “How does that work, actually? Are you guys telepathic now, or something?”

Josie says, “No,” at the same time Penelope does, immediately contradicting their answer.

“That doesn’t help your case.” Lizzie’s smirking at the both of them, as if she finds all of this supremely entertaining. “Well, if it’s not telepathy, then how did Josie know where to go?”

Penelope doesn’t answer straightaway, instead turning to Josie, as if asking if she wants to speak for them.

Josie’s never really been that person, the one who stands at the front of a room and makes a point on behalf of everyone. She’s never wanted to be that person; too much responsibility for too little pay-off. The limelight has always been Lizzie’s to chase.

It’s different, with Penelope. But everything is different with Penelope, and Josie’s learned that she cannot use the rest of her life as a benchmark for their relationship.

Being with Penelope is like cracking the world open, turning it inside out and realising that it’s never been what it claims to be. Josie has always been afraid of change, and she’s not above admitting that, but Penelope makes her want to be brave.

“You know how a compass can always find true north? No matter which way you spin it, or where you are in the world?”

Lizzie nods. Hope does too, but slower, like it’s taken her a bit more time to recall the information needed to understand Josie’s question.

“That’s how it feels.” Josie glances to her right, where Penelope is smiling gently at her. “Like I’m the compass, and Pen is my true north.”

It becomes immediately apparent that Lizzie is struggling between an honest desire to be happy for Josie, and a Cain instinct urge to rip her to absolute shreds for that highly cheesy line. In the end, all she does is very carefully turn toward Penelope and ask, “Is it the same for you?”

Josie hadn’t ever considered that, how it might feel different for Penelope, so she turns too, curious.

“No,” Penelope says. “I don’t believe it is.”

“Really?” Lizzie sounds as surprised as Josie feels. “How’s it work for you, then?”

They all wait patiently as Penelope tries to find the right words, the silence broken only by the soft clink of Hope setting her empty bowl aside.

“The world is full of hurt.” Penelope pauses, seeming to realise that she’s launched them down an entirely unrelated tangent. “What I mean to say is, I’ve seen a lot of it, the hurt. Sometimes, if it overwhelms me, I get this feeling in my chest, like I’m being pulled apart.”

Hope is nodding along, like she knows all this already. Which makes sense, since they’d grown up together. They don’t seem the type to keep secrets from each other.

“Josie mitigates that. Being around her makes the hurt disappear.” Penelope turns in her chair, lips tilting into that same, gentle smile. “You are the healing.”

And, for all that she usually takes any given opportunity to run her mouth, Josie finds herself at a complete loss.

She’s saved by Hope, who’s now leaning back in her chair, arms crossed.

“Huh, that makes a lot of sense actually. Is this what you meant when you said Josie makes everything less irritating?”

Penelope turns back around, so that she’s facing Hope again, across the table from her. “Not specifically,” she says, “but that does make sense. I think that was before I fully understood what was happening.”

“I still don’t understand what’s happening.” Lizzie cuts in, though her tone of voice is more teasing than anything else. “Happy for you, though. Just don’t get all insufferable on me, because I reserve the right to make fun of you for it.” She hesitates, seeming to consider her own words. “Well, I reserve the right to make fun of Josie for it. Don’t think I could do that to you, Penelope.”

“Hey!” Josie’s sibling instincts take over, and she leans across the table in an attempt to take a swipe at Lizzie, who tilts back just in time to avoid the attack. “Stop bullying me!”

Lizzie laughs, scooting her chair closer to Hope, so that Josie can’t reach her anymore. “I’m not!” She sticks her tongue out, because they’ve long since established that being mature earns no points. “It’s my rights!”

Josie gets up out of her chair, and Lizzie hops to her feet as well.

“Don’t you dare chase me.”

“Don’t you tell me what to do!”

They stare at each other for a moment, then Josie takes a step to the left, and Lizzie books it out of the kitchen.

Josie follows, aware that both Hope and Penelope are laughing, but not caring enough to do anything about it.

Their lives have never been more chaotic, and just this once, Josie’s going to let herself indulge in some good, honest fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a tiny bit of lore here, but I distracted you with gay longing. Works every time!
> 
> In any case, [@scorpiowaltz](https://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter, comments & kudos are everything to me.


	21. JOSIE

“Hey.” Lizzie flings an arm out, pokes her fingers into the side of Josie’s stomach. “I haven’t asked, but how do you feel about it? How do you really feel, I mean. Don’t just say what you think I want to hear.”

They’d had dinner with Hope and Penelope, at Klaus’ insistence, and he’d driven them home afterward. Now they’re side by side on Lizzie’s bed, listening as the house creaks quietly around them.

Josie pins her sister’s arm down, laughing when Lizzie lets out an indignant yelp.

“I don’t know,” she says, once they’ve stopped shoving at each other. “Life has been so weird lately.”

Lizzie hums in acknowledgement. “Some of it has been good, though.” She lets out a slow breath. “I think we should focus on the good.”

Easier said than done, but Josie’s gotten better at it, over the last couple months. Better at knowing how to take a step back, telling herself to breathe.

Because Penelope had been right. There is hurt in the world, so much of it, but for every piece of hurt, there is a slice of healing, and that is what Josie has to remember.

“She’s not my other half.”

“Oh?”

“That’s not how it feels.” Josie turns, only to find that her sister is already looking at her. “It’s more like, she’s with me now. Always.”

Lizzie just rolls her eyes, all fondness and amusement. “I know,” she says. “It hasn’t really been a secret.”

Josie laughs, a low, breathless sound. “Don’t make fun of me.” She kicks gently at her sister's ankles. “I see the way you look at Hope.”

“Don’t even try and change the subject.” Lizzie kicks back, but she misses, which says much more than any of her words ever will. “We’re not talking about me right now.”

“Well, we could. It’s your turn, how do you feel about Hope?”

Lizzie is silent for a while, then she sighs. “Why are you asking if you already know?”

“Humour me.”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying.” Lizzie kicks out again, and this time she doesn’t miss. Josie lets it slide, because her sister is going through something right now. “I like her, okay? She’s funny, and charming, and sees the best in people. How could you not?”

“Well-”

“Okay, your opinion doesn’t count because your heart is literally connected to Penelope’s and I feel like that’s a pretty big advantage for her.”

Josie can’t fully endorse the validity of that statement, mostly because she still has no idea how the heartbond works, but she can’t deny that Lizzie’s mostly right.

Choosing someone other than Penelope just doesn’t sound like something she’s ever going to do. Not anymore.

“It’s nice.” Josie doesn’t always feel their connection, not when she’s not actively seeking it. But she knows that it’s there, that it’ll be there when she wants it to, that familiar energy, tethering her to Penelope. “I don’t need it, but it’s nice. Does that make sense?”

“Sort of, yeah.” Lizzie sits on that for a while, ruminating. “It’s kind of crazy, though. Not just this, but all of it. Sometimes, I forget that something out there wants to kill us.”

“Just one of us.” Josie laughs, twisting away from her sister’s prodding. “I don’t know,” she says, once they’ve both calmed down. “It is crazy, but we have Hope and Penelope. They’re good at protecting us.”

Lizzie lets out a slow breath. “What’s going to happen when we graduate? Is it just going to be like this forever?”

As a rule, Josie doesn’t let herself dwell on the past. A side-effect of this is that she rarely thinks about her future either, preferring to ground herself in the present, because that’s the only part of her life she can control.

This is, admittedly, one of those situations where she should probably be thinking about the future. But Josie’s a creature of habit, doesn’t tend to change her ways, even when she needs to.

“I’m sure they’re looking for a more permanent solution, having that thing show up once a month can’t be convenient for them either.”

“I just don’t want to get stuck in this town, Jo.” Lizzie’s speaking faster now, energy bubbling beneath her words. “I can’t get stuck in this town.”

Josie takes her sister’s hand, holds it between both of her own. “I know.” She tugs slightly, an attempt to bring Lizzie out of whatever scenario she’s currently imagining. “You won’t. You’ll get out of here, Liz. We both will. I promise.”

Distantly, their old grandfather clock chimes twelve.

“Do you think we should talk to Dad?” Josie’s been thinking it for a while, how their father has no idea what’s going on. He’s never been particularly close to either of them, but this is the farthest they’ve ever been. “About all this, I mean.”

Lizzie’s answer comes without hesitation. “I still don’t think he needs to know.” She retrieves her hand, only to pat Josie on the back of hers. “But you should decide.”

“What? Why?”

“You’ve always been better with this stuff, don’t even pretend that you aren’t.”

It’s true that Josie’s more likely to give their father a fair chance, but she’s been practising a lot more self-care lately, and part of that has been actively reminding herself that just because someone is related to her, doesn’t mean that she owes them anything.

Love is earned. That’s something else for her to remember.

“I don’t want to talk about it with him.” Josie stares up at the ceiling, feels a sudden, inexplicable sense of freedom. “And neither do you, so we won’t.”

“Wonderful. Love the choice that you just made, I really stand by it.”

Josie laughs, then she pulls at the duvet, making sure that they each have exactly half. It’s an age-old argument between them, who hogs the covers more, and she doesn’t think they’re ever going to come to a consensus.

“I’m sleeping in here tonight,” she says, snuggling down into her side of the bed.

As expected, Lizzie immediately starts whining about it. “God, I hate that for me.”

“It’s my rights, actually.”

“Okay, I guess I can’t argue with that.”

🐾

Josie wakes to someone yanking her upright, and she’s on her feet before she can even fully comprehend the idea that she is no longer asleep.

“Good morning, Jo! The birds are singing, the sun is shining, I’m going to get a mani-pedi and Dad isn’t home so I’ve called Hope and she said you can hang out at their place for the day.”

When she’s at her best, Josie can pretty much keep up with any conversation. All those years of staying quiet and listening intently have made her really good at paying attention.

She is, currently, not at her best, and so understands none of Lizzie’s words, individually or altogether.

As it is, Josie responds with a single, very intelligent, “Huh?”

Lizzie sighs, nudging her toward the door. “Come on,” she says. “Early bird gets the worm, or whatever. Also, my appointment is in forty minutes, and I can’t be late.”

🐾

Twenty minutes later, Josie is dressed and on their front porch. Lizzie shoves an apple into her hand, then goes around the back of the house to retrieve both their bicycles.

“Right, you remember the way?”

Josie nods, then she gives her head a little shake. “Wait.” She looks down at the apple, her bicycle, then up at her sister. “What's happening?”

Lizzie sighs, all long-suffering, like this is the fourth time she’s had to answer this question, which is not even remotely true. “I’m going into town,” she explains. “And Dad’s not home. I don’t want you just sitting around alone, so I called Hope and she said you can go hang with them. Penelope’s there, too. Sounds good?”

“Okay?” Josie still doesn’t have the perfect grasp on the situation, but she’d heard Penelope’s name, and that had been enough to get her brain on board with whatever Lizzie has planned. “See you later?”

“Jo, you have to cut through town to get to Hope’s house. We’re headed in the same direction.”

“Oh. Right, yeah.”

They stand there on the lawn for another thirty seconds before Lizzie sighs again.

“Would you, perhaps, like to eat your apple? Last I checked, you need both hands to ride a bike.”

Josie takes a bite of her apple.

🐾

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Lizzie’s lingering outside the salon, eyes narrowed against the morning sun. “Maybe I should come with you.”

Josie shakes her head. “Yes, I’ll be fine.” She’s properly awake now, at the very least. “Go get your nails done, I’ll see you tonight.”

Lizzie looks unconvinced, but she lets Josie push her toward the door. “Okay,” she says. “Text when you get there?”

It’s kind of funny how Lizzie still worries about her like they’re not both eighteen, but Josie would never complain. It’s nice to be fussed over, and her sister never goes too far with it.

“Yes, I promise. The moment I get there, you will know.”

“Alright. See you later, Jo. Love you.”

“Love you, too!”

🐾

Klaus is the one who answers the door, when Josie knocks, beaming brightly at her.

“Hello!” He steps aside, ushering her in. “How are you today, Josie? Well, I hope.”

Josie toes off her shoes, makes sure to line them up nicely by the door. “I’m good, thank you.” She waits for Klaus to shut the door before continuing. “Sorry for just showing up unannounced, Lizzie did say that she called Hope?”

“Ah, she might have. Hope hasn’t been home all morning, though. The girls went for a run.” Klaus shrugs, easygoing as ever. “In any case, you’re always welcome here, doesn’t matter if you call ahead.” He claps his hands together, grinning widely. “So, are you hungry? And don’t say no just to be polite, I’m making breakfast whether you want it or not. Hope’s always ravenous after a run.”

“Sure.” Josie lets out a breathless laugh, a bit taken aback by the entire morning, though not in a bad way. “I haven’t eaten today, except for an apple.”

“Well, that won’t do at all. Do you like omelettes?”

“Mmhm!”

“Sit tight, then. One omelette, coming right up.”

🐾

Klaus seems very at home in the kitchen, wearing his ‘#1 Dad’ apron as he sings along to a selection of old jazz tunes playing from the radio.

Josie sits at the counter, crafting a text to her sister. Lizzie probably won’t respond, but she’ll see the notification, which is good enough.

Just as she puts her phone down, Klaus slides a plate in front of her, and Josie glances up to smile at him.

“Thanks, Dad.”

It takes a moment for what she’s just said to register in her mind, and when it does, Josie’s gaze snaps up, eyes widening in panic.

Klaus just grins, reaching over to mess with her hair, like he always does with Hope and Penelope. “Between you and me,” he says, voice soft, “I’d be proud to be your dad.”

Before Josie can respond, the back door flies open and Hope falls in, talking at the speed of light. Penelope follows soon after, wearing her usual patient expression as she nods along.

There’s dirt on her face, as if she’d taken a tumble during their run.

Klaus crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow at them. “Good morning,” he says, and it’s obvious that he’s trying his best to sound stern. “No food until you take a shower.”

Hope starts whining immediately, dragging herself over to the stove, where she tries to steal a piece of bacon. Klaus lunges over, picking up the pan and holding it above his head.

“What are you doing?” Hope sounds amused. “You know I can jump higher than that.”

Then, as if to prove herself, she sinks into a low crouch before springing through the air, easily clearing Klaus’ entire height and coming very close to smashing her head on the ceiling.

Hope swipes some bacon out of the pan before crashing back to the floor with an almighty _crack!_ that has Josie wincing in sympathy.

“She’s fine.” Penelope appears at her shoulder, smiling softly when Josie meets her eyes. “The floor might not be, though.”

Josie laughs, unable to help herself. Something about Penelope’s voice, quiet and warm, always fills her with delight.

She reaches up, rubs her thumb gently across the dirt on Penelope’s cheek. “What happened?”

Penelope grins, and for a moment, Josie sees the cat instead of the girl.

“Hope insisted on a race, even though she knows I’m faster. She jumped me when I won.”

“I did not!” Hope anchors her hands on the table, then vaults herself up and over so that she’s standing on Josie’s other side. “You were just in the way.”

Josie, still reeling from the sudden action, doesn’t notice when Klaus also comes over.

“Shower,” he says firmly, nudging both Hope and Penelope toward the kitchen doorway. “And stop bothering Josie, she hasn’t even eaten her omelette yet.”

“Well, I would like an-” Hope is interrupted when Penelope starts shepherding her out of the kitchen. “Hey!”

Klaus follows them down the hall, and Josie hears him tell Hope that she’s not allowed to race Penelope up the stairs.

He returns moments later, retying his apron. “Better eat your omelette,” he says. “Hope’s going to want it.”

Josie picks up her fork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My struggle with commas is an ongoing one, please keep me in your thoughts.
> 
> [@scorpiowaltz](https://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter, should you wish to chat. As always, comments & kudos are wildly appreciated and earnestly encouraged.


	22. PENELOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my good pal Ji, who's almost finished with her finals. I bet you're going to do super poggers on it, here's a little something to wish you luck <3

“Pen.”

Penelope pulls her hoodie fully over her head, looks up to find Hope hovering in her doorway.

“Something the matter?”

Hope shakes her head, though it’s clear that she’s slightly worried. “Dad wants to talk to us,” she says. “It’s important.”

“Okay.”

They make their way down the stairs together, filtering through to the living room, where both Klaus and Hayley are seated on the couch.

There is a sword on the coffee table.

Penelope looks at it for a moment, then takes a seat in the armchair, shuffling over so that Hope can squash in with her.

“Right, what’s this about?” Hope peers down at the sword, then up at her parents. “Is that real?”

Klaus nods. “Yes, don’t touch it.” He leans forward in his seat, making sure that they’re both paying attention. “I got a call from New Orleans this morning, they’ve stumbled upon some new information that might help with our situation here.”

Penelope glances down at the sword again, then back up at Klaus and Hayley. “In what way?” she asks.

“They think that they might have found … how shall I put this? Well, they called it a solution.”

“What?” Hope sits up, taking a moment to readjust so that her elbow isn’t digging into Penelope’s side. “They found a solution?”

It’s her mother who replies. “Nothing concrete,” Hayley says. “We don’t know much, you’re aware of that. This is, at best, an intelligent guess.”

“They’ve all been intelligent guesses.” Penelope looks down at her hands, then back up at her family. “Every decision we’ve made, we’ve just been relying on the information we do have. If there’s a potential solution, I think we should explore it.”

Klaus lets out a low laugh. “You’re right,” he says. “Here’s what we know.”

🐾

Lizzie stares dubiously at the sword. “That thing?” she asks, sounding very disbelieving indeed.

“Yes,” Hope says, for the third time. “That thing. It’s been enchanted, and they also put a charm for easy wielding on it.”

Josie’s stayed silent throughout their entire explanation, and Penelope’s been keeping an eye on her, making sure that she’s following along. So far, it just seems like she’s trying to take everything in.

They’d called the twins almost immediately after Klaus had finished talking, deciding that the earlier they share this information, the better.

No sense in keeping secrets, not when they could get someone killed.

Penelope, who’s on the couch now, after having been herded out of the armchair so that Lizzie could sit next to Hope instead, turns to her left, where Josie is still deep in thought.

“Hey, you okay?”

Josie looks up, lips tilting into a smile when their eyes meet. “I’m fine,” she says. “Just thinking.” She reaches over, takes Penelope’s hand and threads their fingers together. “You’re worried.”

Penelope huffs out a laugh. “Of course I am.”

“Well, I’m not.” Josie just keeps smiling, her grip on Penelope’s hand tightening. “You’ll be there, so I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

It’s been a while since that day in Penelope’s bedroom, and they haven’t really defined what they are, but sometimes it feels like they don’t have to. It’s the small, quiet things, in the small, quiet moments. Unspoken promises that neither of them will break.

Penelope will keep choosing Josie, and Josie will keep choosing her.

They lapse into a comfortable silence, and Josie shuffles closer, resting her head on Penelope’s shoulder. She lets go of Penelope’s hand, only to pick it back up almost immediately, running gentle fingers across the lines on her palm.

“What?” Hope’s voice carries across the room, interrupting their brief spell of peace. “No, you can’t do that.”

Lizzie’s got her arms crossed. “Why not?” She gestures vaguely toward the sword, which is still sitting on the table. “You can’t expect us to use that, it looks heavy. Also, we don’t know how.”

“Okay, fine. Maybe we can come up with something else, but you can’t-”

“Yes, we can! You said it yourself, any weapon will do. It’s not even really about killing it, right? It’s about severing all ties, or whatever.”

“Any weapon will do, yeah. As long as both you and Josie can use it together. But-”

“Well, in that case, I don’t see why my idea wouldn’t work. It seems perfect, actually.”

Hope sighs, all long-suffering in a way that doesn’t even sound exaggerated. “Lizzie, a Wii Remote and Nunchuk aren’t weapons.”

At that, Josie sits up, though she does make sure not to let go of Penelope’s hand. “What?” she asks, equal parts amused and confused. “Liz, you want us to use a Wii Remote to fight an ancient eldritch beast?”

“Not just the remote, obviously. We’ll have the Nunchuk, too.”

“Oh, yes. That’ll definitely give us the upper hand.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes. “Don’t you make fun of me, you don’t know how to use a sword either.” She pushes herself out of the armchair, moves across the room to stand on the other side of the coffee table, presumably so she can address them all at once. “Look, wouldn’t it make more sense to give us weapons we’re familiar with? I’ve never held a sword in my life, but I have the high score in bowling, tennis, and baseball.”

“No, I have the high score in baseball.” Josie zeroes in on the least important aspect of Lizzie’s sentence, Penelope hides a smile in the sleeve of her hoodie. “I beat you last week, remember?”

“What? Oh, yeah.” Lizzie shrugs. “Well, whatever. We both have to be there. This just proves my point.”

“No, it doesn’t!” Hope springs to her feet, glances around the room for a second, as if looking for something to back herself up. Nothing is immediately helpful, so she settles on Penelope. “Pen, tell her that we’re not sending them into the woods with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk.”

It does sound kind of absurd, but Lizzie isn’t entirely wrong. They don’t have time to teach the twins proper swordsmanship, and Penelope would rather they be equipped with a weapon that they’re familiar with.

Still, she’s not exactly sure a Wii Remote and Nunchuk are their best choice.

“Well,” Penelope starts, mindful of the way Hope is looking at her, all _‘you better be on my side about this’_ with no room for argument. “It’s always good to have options-”

“This shouldn’t even be on the table!” Hope doesn’t wait for the second half of her sentence. “What are they going to do with a Wii remote? Wave it around? Throw it at the thing?”

“We could use this.” Lizzie reaches into the cabinet next to the television and pulls out one of the plastic guitars they use to play Guitar Hero, swings it upwards in a dangerous arc. Penelope winces as it flies past the television. “It’s lighter than the sword, at least.”

Hope throws her arms into the air. “I don’t want you in the woods at all,” she says. “Do you really think I’d send you in with something that, no offence, couldn’t even take me down?”

“Of course it can’t.” Lizzie slings the guitar around her neck, absent-mindedly dances her fingers over the buttons. “I don’t want to.”

Hope opens her mouth, closes it. She seems to consider Lizzie’s words, then turns to Penelope. “Intent,” she says. “Do you think … would it matter? I don’t know if … but Dad said it’s more about severing the connection than killing it. So, maybe?”

“We’d have to ask.” Penelope sits up, inadvertently pulling Josie along with her. “Klaus can call the oracles. There’s still time before the next new moon, we’ll come up with something before then.”

“Right, yeah. Of course.” Hope sinks back into the chair, already lost in thought.

Still standing in the middle of the room, Lizzie gives the plastic guitar a dramatic strum. “So,” she says, “what’s for lunch?”

🐾

Lunch is homemade pizza, courtesy of Klaus’ special recipe. Hope is on her sixth slice when Lizzie manages to pry her away from the table. Seconds later, they both disappear out the front door.

Klaus looks up from where he’s cleaning the oven. “Where are they going?” he asks.

Penelope shrugs. “Better we don’t know,” she says, loading the last of the plates into the dishwasher. “Plausible deniability.”

Josie chooses this moment to pop back in, glancing around the room once before her gaze settles on Penelope. “Where…?” She trails off, shaking her head. “Actually, better we don’t know.”

Klaus laughs, sharp and not at all surprised. Penelope just looks at him, and he dutifully turns back to the oven.

“What?” Josie squints at them, adorably confused. “What did I miss?”

Penelope just smiles. “Nothing." She reaches forward with one hand, and Josie takes it immediately. “What would you like to do today?”

It’s a nice afternoon, sunlight splashing through the kitchen window, sweeping over them. Josie looks radiant, standing there, awash in the warm, golden glow.

“Let’s go outside,” she says, tugging on their joined hands. Penelope follows along, wondering if being with Josie will always feel like this, like she’s doing something right, an inexplicable wholeness that settles neatly in the spaces between her ribs.

“Okay.”

🐾

They end up underneath the large apple tree, Josie sitting on the wooden swing that Klaus had strung up when they’d first moved in. Penelope had refrained from making any comments about how neither she nor Hope are children anymore, mostly because Hope had been extremely excited about it.

Besides, there’s nothing wrong with indulging in a little childish joy every now and then.

“Come on.” Josie’s grinning at her, eyes bright, fingers wrapped around the rope that’s holding the swing up. “Give me a push.”

Penelope mutters a quiet, “Don’t let go,” before obliging, placing gentle hands between Josie’s shoulder blades and nudging the other girl forward, allowing the momentum of the swing to do most of the work.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Josie says in reply, voice soft, and it’s obvious that they’re not really talking about the swing anymore.

It’s not something that Penelope fully understands, this connection that they share, the invisible string that tethers them together. But it’s special, and important, so as much as she appreciates a full breadth of knowledge, Penelope’s more than happy to leave well enough alone, just this once. Because the sun is out, and the birds are singing, and Josie is here, warm under her palms. And Penelope may not fully understand the hows and whys of their bond, but she knows better than to question it.

Never leave a good thing waiting, her mother had taught her that much.

After a while, Josie starts letting her feet drag across the ground, gradually slowing her arc.

Penelope waits until the swing drifts into a light sway before asking, “All done?”

“Yup!” Josie hops off, grinning widely as she reaches for Penelope, spinning her around. “Your turn!”

“My turn?” Penelope can hear the scepticism in her own voice, but she lets Josie corral her into the wooden seat. After a moment, she feels warm hands settle around her ribs, then a slight push that sends her forwards and upwards.

“I’ve never done this before,” Josie says, and there’s a certain lilt to her tone that Penelope recognises as an indication that she’s not referring to the act of taking turns on a swing. “But it’s about give and take, right? Two-way street, and all that.”

Penelope breathes out a laugh, a low noise that is immediately lost to the breeze. “Give and take,” she echoes, the smile in her voice more than loud enough to be heard. “That’s right.”

Josie makes a pleased sort of sound. “I like this,” she says, and there’s a certain sweetness to her voice, a certain honesty. “I like us.”

“Do you?” Penelope asks, unable to resist the low-hanging fruit. Josie huffs, flustered, and when the swing next descends, she pushes so hard that Penelope ends up almost parallel to the ground.

“Don’t make fun of me!”

Penelope laughs, and this time the breeze can’t hold it. Josie catches her when she falls, and she digs her heels into the earth, enough that her next arc is significantly smaller. “Sorry,” she says, around a grin, and when Josie doesn’t respond, continues with, “I like us, too.”

“You sure about that?”

“More than anything.”

Josie misses the next push, but she makes up for it on the following one. “Okay,” she says, quiet but happy. “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to add a note at the end, I truly have nothing to say other than we're really in it now.
> 
> [@scorpiowaltz](https://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter if you want to chat, I always like talking to y'all about my work. Other than that, kudos & comments make up half of my daily required nutrition, please contribute if you can.


	23. JOSIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wishing everyone the jolliest of holidays! Take care of yourselves, drink water, sleep well.

Josie looks at the plastic guitar in her hands, then back up at Hope. “Um, is it supposed to be glowing like this?”

Hope doesn’t even glance in her direction, too absorbed by whatever it is she’s doing to the buttons on the guitar that Lizzie is holding. “That just means it’s working,” she says, in a nonchalant sort of way, as if the finer details of ritualistic separation are just something that Josie’s supposed to already know.

Deciding not to poke that sleeping dragon in the eye, Josie turns to Penelope, who is eyeing the glowing guitar with what looks to be, in Josie’s opinion, an appropriate level of suspicion. “I’m concerned.”

“Me too.” Penelope reaches out, presumably to try one of the buttons, then thinks better of it at the last second and pulls her hand back. Josie silently applauds her decision. “I’m sure Hope knows what she’s doing.”

“I’m sure I would also like to know what Hope is doing.”

In a surprising one-eighty from her previous, extremely adamant, refusal to even entertain the idea of using Wii remotes as weapons, Hope now seems to be a hundred and ten percent committed to it.

Josie’s neither here nor there on the idea as a whole, but would really appreciate it if someone could just fill her in on what the plan actually is. The glowing guitar is cool and all, but she’s got no idea how to use it, short of swinging it around like a baseball bat and hoping for the best.

“Okay!” Hope claps her hands together, so loud that Josie flinches backwards, momentarily losing her grip on the guitar. Almost as if she’d expected something like this to happen, Penelope catches it, and her.

“Whoops.” Josie lets out a breathless laugh, steadying herself against the arm that Penelope’s wrapped around her waist. “Thanks.”

Penelope just smiles at her, green eyes bright with playful amusement. “Why don’t you sit down?” she suggests, angling Josie toward the couch.

It’s a good idea, Josie knows this because she’d spent many of her adolescent years struggling with too-long limbs and its taught her that the closer she is to the ground, the more difficult it is to fall over.

“Okay,” she agrees, dropping onto one of the cushions. Penelope hands the guitar back to her, but stays standing.

Josie’s just thinking about how nice it would be if they were holding hands right now when Hope decides that she’s ready to explain herself.

“Alright, everyone. Listen up! Here’s the plan.”

🐾

“This is a terrible plan.”

They’re standing at the edge of the woods, peering through the trees, and as much as Josie usually tries her best to be as optimistic as possible, she can’t help but wonder if her sister is right.

“Well, someone didn’t want to use a sword, so this is the only plan we’ve got.” Hope arches into a stretch, pulling up onto her tiptoes for a second before dropping back down and shaking her arms out. “Remember, it’s about-”

“Intent and synchronicity,” Lizzie recites, clearly very much over being told the same thing seventeen times in a row. “We know.”

Turns out, the plan really is to swing their guitars around like baseball bats and hope for the best. Josie doesn’t know if she’s supposed to be surprised.

Halfway through wondering if she should maybe ask Lizzie to stop being so testy (which probably isn’t a good idea, all things considered) Josie feels a light tug at the bottom of her spine. Instinct pulls her gaze back to the tree-line, anticipation blooming like butterflies underneath her skin.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Penelope emerges from the shadows. She meets Josie’s eyes, smiles at her in greeting, then turns to consult with Hope.

Josie’s just far enough that she can’t tell what they’re saying, but her attention lingers on Penelope anyway, like it always does.

“Stop being so obvious.” Lizzie’s grinning, blue eyes alight with amusement, though there’s a certain tilt to her smile that softens her words. “We get it, you’re in love. You don’t have to be so loud about it.”

“Loud about what? I wasn’t even saying anything.”

“And yet.”

Josie rolls her eyes, refusing to give her sister any more fuel to be annoying. Instead, she swivels on the spot, looking back over the meadow, to where Hope’s parents are probably standing in their backyard, waiting for everyone to come home.

The plan is rather simple: Penelope finds the spot in the woods where the ley lines are fraying, they get there first, wait for the creature to break through, then hit it as hard as they can with their glowing guitars.

There are other details, like the fact that Josie has to memorise the path they take into the woods, because if things go sideways they need to know how to get back to the house and Lizzie’s never been too good with directions, but she’s not letting herself think about that right now.

“Hey.” Penelope’s voice is soft, and she reaches to take one of Josie’s hands, the one that isn’t holding the guitar. “You ready?”

Josie leans into the touch, lets the familiar warmth sweep through her. “Yeah,” she says, because she is, but also because she’d probably be ready for anything, if Penelope’s asking. “Let’s go.”

🐾

Penelope stays human for their trek through the woods, leading them down the easiest, most straightforward path she can find. Josie’s right behind her, their hands still intertwined, and Lizzie’s following along, with Hope, in her wolf form, bringing up the rear.

Josie takes note of every turn they make, keeping track of how long they’ve been moving in a certain direction. Penelope helps by lightly squeezing her hand whenever they’re due for another change-up.

It doesn’t take long at all for them to reach a clearing, and here Penelope stops, leading both Josie and Lizzie into the darkness on the far end. Hope disappears through the trees, probably to keep watch somewhere.

“Wait for Hope’s signal,” Penelope says, so quiet that even Josie, pressed up against her, almost misses the words. “Remember, intent and synchronicity.”

Josie nods, and Lizzie does too, this time without any of her trademark snark.

Penelope takes a step back, pausing for just a moment to glance over the both of them, then Josie blinks, and the girl is gone. Standing in her place, so well camouflaged that only green eyes are visible, is the panther that Josie once dreamt of.

A single, suspended second, then even those green eyes disappear, and Penelope vanishes into the trees.

Josie can’t see her anymore, but their connection holds strong, and she knows that if she follows the tug in her spine, Penelope will be at the other end.

The woods around them are silent, and Lizzie shifts closer, reaching to take Josie’s now-empty hand.

All they can do now is wait.

🐾

Josie feels it before she hears it, a slight tilt in her perception of the world, followed by a loud _crack!_ that reverberates through her bones.

Next to her, Lizzie stiffens, and they both shiver as a sudden gust of wind blows through the clearing.

Distantly, Josie is aware that something is happening, something she most likely can’t see, but all she can think of in this moment is how much she doesn’t want to die tonight.

It happens quickly. The wind drops, and for a split second, everything is still. Then the creature is there, rearing up on its hind-legs and cutting a terrifying silhouette against the cool night air.

The same shaggy fur, the same pointed antlers, and the same red eyes.

Before anything else can happen, Hope comes crashing out of the trees on the opposite end of the clearing, landing squarely on the creature’s back and forcing it to the ground.

That’s the signal.

Josie doesn’t know when she’d let go of her sister’s hand, but she’s got both her own now wrapped around the neck of her guitar as she sprints across the clearing. The plastic is warm under her skin, and it seems to be glowing even brighter than before.

Lizzie is right next to her, keeping pace, and they match each other stride for stride across the short, dry grass.

The creature is struggling under Hope’s weight, thrashing violently in its attempts to escape. It snarls at them as they approach, but doesn’t manage to slip free.

Josie lifts her guitar over her head, thinks _fuck you_ and _get out of my life_, before swinging it down as hard as she can.

Her movements are mirrored almost perfectly by Lizzie, and they catch the creature on the underside of its jaw. Hope lets go at the moment of impact, dodging to the side, and it skids backwards across the ground, smashing into the roots of a tree.

Penelope appears then, right as something in Josie splits open, twisting at her insides. She drops the guitar and doubles over, wrapping both arms around her stomach.

Two feet to her left, Lizzie seems to be going through the exact same thing, but as fast as the sensation had arrived, it evaporates, leaving a strange sort of emptiness behind.

For a single, dreadful moment, Josie thinks it's taken her connection to Penelope with it, but when she reaches for the heartbond, it thrums steadily through her, as alive as it's ever been.

Penelope herself is right there, though still in her panther form. Josie reaches for her anyway, desperate for the familiar warmth. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Hope meeting Lizzie in much the same way.

Their reunion is cut short when, from across the clearing, the creature climbs back to its feet, shakes its fur out, and lunges toward them.

Josie doesn’t even have time to panic before Hope meets it halfway, and they tumble to the ground in a mess of claws and teeth. Penelope almost follows, but she turns to Josie first, green eyes bright with warning.

The message is clear enough that Josie would know it even without the heartbond, and so she hears it twice, echoing through her like the ringing of a bell.

_Run!_

🐾

They race down the path, pushing branches out of the way, and Josie can’t help but think of the night of their party.

Trips into the woods always seem to end in the same way for them.

Josie’s concentrating, trying her best to retrace their steps, and Lizzie is, mercifully, following without complaint. They’re almost to the last turn when, out of nowhere, something bursts out of the trees to their right.

Without even thinking about it, Josie takes a hard left.

“What the fuck?” Lizzie shouts, using her slight height advantage to catch up to and run alongside Josie. “Are we still going the right way?”

“Nope!”

“That sucks!”

“Yeah! I know!”

It definitely still sounds like they’re being chased, so Josie keeps running. She’s not sure of where they are anymore, but moving forward means not getting ripped to pieces, and she’s a big fan of that.

They burst through the trees into a small, enclosed area that looks slightly familiar, and Josie almost cries in relief when Penelope appears in front of her, from the opposite end of the little glade.

Hope follows shortly after, and they both leap forward, right as the creature smashes its way through a cluster of bushes and comes barrelling toward them.

Only, it doesn’t clear more than a couple feet before coming to a total halt.

“Changed its mind, huh?” Lizzie mutters under her breath, though there’s a definite note of relief in her tone.

Josie leans over Penelope’s shoulder, watching as the creature paces in a tight circle, movements jerky with irritation. All of a sudden, it lets out a guttural growl, then falls to the ground.

Following its descent with her gaze, Josie finally realises why this location feels so familiar. It’s the clearing they’d visited when Penelope had gotten injured, the one with the fairy circle.

The circle that the creature is currently trapped in.

It's writhing in place, whining at a pitch so high that Josie almost can’t hear it. She watches, with a morbid sort of fascination, as the fangs contract, as the fur slowly recedes, and as the antlers fall off.

When it finally looks back up, the red eyes are still there, but it’s no longer an it.

In front of them, curled up on the ground in the middle of the fairy circle, is a human man.

Josie has a sudden, almost aggressive flashback to an afternoon she’d spent alone at home, flipping through an old photo album, memorising the faces of her family.

She and Lizzie both lean forward at the same time, and when they speak, it’s in unison.

“Uncle Kai?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really should've put up a chapter cap when I figured out how many there would be but it just never occurred to me, anyway see you next week for the finale. As always, kudos & comments are my entire Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you can find me [@scorpiowaltz](https://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) on Twitter.


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